Warning: Some of the details in this story may be disturbing to some readers.
A plaintiff filed a civil lawsuit against a Lexington Massage Envy location, its owner, and Massage Envy Franchising, LLC following an alleged sexual assault reported to police last month.
The lawsuit, filed April 17, names the plaintiff as Jane Doe. It follows the arrest of 25-year-old Caleb Howard, a Massage Envy employee charged with first-degree sexual abuse for an incident on March 14.
Stewart Ryan, a partner at the Philadelphia-based law firm Laffey, Bucci, D'Andrea, Reich and Ryan, represents the plaintiff. He said the legal action seeks to hold both the company and the location's owner accountable, citing alleged failures in hiring, supervision, and client safety measures.
"To have a violation like this occur not just to yourself but in that sort of a setting, it sort of creates a spider web of trauma," Ryan said.
According to the Lexington Police citation, officers were called to the Hamburg location after a reported assault. Officers were told the victim, a client of Massage Envy with Howard as her masseuse, had undressed and lay face down on the massage table with sheets over top of her.
The victim told police she only felt one of Howard's hands on her shoulder and thought she heard what the citation describes as him "manipulating his pants." She began to feel uneasy and experienced what is known as "tonic immobility," a fear response that caused her body to freeze. The citation says she believed Howard might have been preparing to assault her.
"Our client is definitely and significantly traumatized. In terms of approaching a case like this, it's important to come at this situation with a trauma-informed approach. It'll be important that our client have the resources that are necessary to try and overcome," Ryan said.
According to the citation, officers were told the victim felt warm liquid spray on her back. The citation states Howard admitted to police the liquid was his own fluid he had been storing in his mouth.
"I think any time you have not just an invasion of your privacy, space, and bodily integrity but also an invasion of the physical space that we're talking about here. You know, individuals going to a massage setting, necessarily trusting businesses to have appropriate safety measures in place, not just with the screening of therapists but in the physical space. They're obviously trusting them in an extremely vulnerable position," Ryan said.
"It's important for us to take this on because unfortunately this issue of sexual assault occurring in the massage industry and at Massage Envy in particular is persistent and continues to happen," Ryan said.
LEX 18 called Massage Envy Hamburg for comment and were referred to the company's press email, but there has been no response. LEX 18 also reached out to Howard's attorney for comment but have not received a response.
If you believe you are a victim of sexual assault, you are encouraged to contact the Kentucky Association of Sexual Assault Programs at 800-656-HOPE.
