Miami Beach Massage Envy therapist Diego Holguin Cespedes voluntarily surrendered his license to practice massage therapy in Florida, which was accepted and adjudged as a discipline on November 7, 2022, by the Board of Massage Therapy. This Final Order was in response to a disciplinary action brought by the Florida Department of Health after a report was made alleging sexual misconduct during a massage Cespedes performed while working at Massage Envy in Miami Beach. This voluntary relinquishment prohibits any further administrative action regarding this case. Holguin Cespedes has been licensed as a massage therapist in Florida since November 2020.
Cespedes' surrender of license came after the DOH issued an Emergency Order in March 2022 prohibiting Cespedes from performing massages on male clients. According to the Orders, on November 20, 2021, Diego Holguin Cespedes was assigned to perform a 60-minute massage on a male client at Massage Envy in Miami Beach. During the massage, Holguin Cespedes allegedly told the client to flip over, laying face up on the massage table. He massaged the client's shoulders and neck and then worked his way down to the client's legs and thighs. While massaging the victim's thighs, Holguin Cespedes allegedly placed his hand up into the client's boxer briefs from the right leg opening. He then grabbed and stroked the client's genitals and penis according to the Order. The client tried knocking his hand away and stated, "man, what are you doing, I don't get down like that." Holguin Cespedes allegedly responded by saying, "I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry," and left the room. The client got dressed and told a staff member what had happened. Holguin Cespedes was fired that day from Massage Envy.
The disciplinary order continues a long and disturbing trend of sexual misconduct by massage therapists statewide. Under Florida law, massage therapists occupy positions of trust, and all sexual activity between the massage therapist and clients is strictly prohibited. Diego Holguin Cespedes violated the massage therapist-patient relationship. A massage therapist may not use his relationship with a client to induce or attempt to induce the patient to engage or to engage or attempt to engage the patient in sexual activity outside the scope of practice or the scope of generally accepted examination or treatment of the patient.
Horowitz Law has filed numerous sexual assault lawsuits against massage therapists on behalf of clients who were sexually assaulted during massages at Massage Envy and other spas and resorts. If you have 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 e-mail to sexual abuse lawyer Adam Horowitz at adam@adamhorowitzlaw.com for a free consultation.