On January 9, 2020, the Florida Department of Health issued an Emergency Order restricting the massage therapy license of Alexander Hyman due to sexual assault allegations lodged by a female client. Alexander Hyman was employed at Hand & Stone Massage and Facial Spa in Winter Springs, Florida at the time of the incident in June 2019. The Emergency Order prohibits Hyman from practicing massage therapy on any female clients.
The Order was issued after Hyman, a licensed massage therapist, was accused by a female client of touching her vaginal area several times during the massage. The client reported the assault to the receptionist after she left the massage room. Hyman resigned from Hand & Stone Massage two days later. According to the Department of Health, Hyman had been licensed to practice massage therapy since 2016. This is just the latest in a long line of alleged incidents of sexual misconduct and abuse reportedly committed by employees at Hand & Stone franchise locations in Florida.
Clients of massage therapists are placed in isolated, vulnerable settings where they can be subject to abuse by their massage therapists. Due to the potential for abuse that is inherent under these circumstances, massage therapists must possess good judgment and good moral character in order to safely practice massage therapy and must refrain from placing their clients in situations that violate their safety and welfare.
Attorney Adam Horowitz has filed numerous sexual misconduct claims against massage therapists on behalf of clients who were inappropriately touched at Hand & Stone and other spas and resorts. A massage therapist is never permitted to have sexual contact with a client. If you have a been a victim of sexual assault or sexual battery during a massage, or if you know someone who has, please contact our law firm at (954) 641-2100 or send an email to sexual abuse lawyer Adam Horowitz at [email protected]