Spa Chain Rubbed People the “Wrong Way” with Sexual Assault Allegation

The nation’s largest massage spa chain is facing allegations of sexual assault.

According to an investigation by Buzzfeed News, more than 180 women have accused "Massage Envy" therapists of groping them, or worse.

Susan Ingram says her masseur turned into a sexual predator during her seventh visit with him at a Massage Envy location in 2015. She says it started when James Deiter began rubbing his groin against her.

Too disturbed to report the assault immediately, she called the manager after she got home. 
 
According to Buzzfeed News, Ingram is just one of more than 180 women who have filed sexual assault lawsuits, police reports, and state board complaints against Massage Envy spas, their employees, and the national company.

Massage Envy only requires franchises to conduct internal investigations of abuse claims, except in the few states that require notification of local law enforcement.

After Ingram filed a formal police report, Deiter pleaded guilty to sexually molesting a total of nine female clients and is now behind bars. Citing court records, Buzzfeed says, "two of those women had tried to warn the spa about Deiter before Ingram had". 

Ingram is suing Massage Envy and taking other steps to make sure spa companies do the right thing. She helped draft federal legislation that would require massage spas to report sexual assault allegations to police.

 We reached out to the franchise where Ingram says she was assaulted, but they declined to comment.