Arizona-based chain Massage Envy faces sex assault lawsuits

PHOENIX — A popular Scottsdale-based massage chain is facing sexual assault lawsuits and other allegations from nearly 200 women, according to an investigation by an online news site.

The website BuzzFeed News reported this week that Massage Envy has been accused of ignoring and mishandling years of clients’ formal complaints of sexual misconduct they endured at the hands of masseurs.

Buzzfeed reported 180 women had filed complaints and/or police reports that included allegations of massage therapists groping their genitals and breasts, and even more explicit violations of their bodies.

Massage Envy said in a statement released Monday evening the complaints documented by BuzzFeed News spanned a period of more than 15 years and 125 million massages but that each account was heartbreaking.

“…we believe that even one incident is too many, so we are constantly listening, learning, and evaluating how we can continue to strengthen our policies with respect to handling of these issues,” the company said.

Adam Horowitz, a lawyer who has handled more than two dozen sexual misconduct lawsuits involving Massage Envy, said that he received two dozen calls from alleged new victims after the report’s publication.

Lawyers for spa clients told BuzzFeed News that there were cases of women reporting massage therapist abuse to police but no one was ever arrested.

One woman, Susan Ingram of Pennsylvania, said when she reported her invasive session with one therapist to his manager, the manager said, “She said she could not do that, and she invited me in to talk about my services.”

The massage therapist Ingram reported later pleaded guilty to molesting nine women from 2014 to 2015.

Melanie Hansen, general counsel of Massage Envy Franchising, told BuzzFeed that the company has worked hard to create the industry’s “most stringent, rigorous policies” for hiring, screening, and training therapists.

“We hold franchise owners accountable to our policies and, when we say nothing is more important to us than treating clients with respect and giving them a safe, professional experience, we mean it,” she said in an email to BuzzFeed.

The company does not direct franchisees to notify law enforcement of the accusations or hire investigators, BuzzFeed News wrote.

The company does tell franchisees they must conduct their own “prompt, fair, and thorough” investigation of any abuse or misconduct claims, but Buzz Feed News reported there was little guidance on how to do so.

Massage Envy, which has nearly 1,200 spas in the United States and employs 20,000 massage therapists, has said it was not liable for sexual assaults that happened on-site because each spa controlled its own daily operations.

Over 1.5 million clients are members.

Employees undergo background checks and are told of a zero-tolerance policy about inappropriate touching but Hansen said “there are no policies in any business that can ensure that an employee of a business will not break the law.”

The American Massage Therapy Association said massage therapists who inappropriately touch clients should face legal consequences and that people who think they have been victimized should call police.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Follow @KTAR923