A massage therapist filmed multiple women and touched them in sensitive areas without consent or prior discussion.
The actions of the massage therapist, who pleaded guilty to multiple charges and was sentenced in 2023, have been revealed in a recent report by the Health and Disability Commissioner.
The man’s offending was discovered in May 2022, when he was caught filming a female client on his phone.
A subsequent police investigation saw him hit with five charges of intentionally making an intimate visual recording of another person and one of intentionally attempting to make an intimate visual recording.
The charges related to four separate clients between April and May 2022.
Deputy Health and Disability Commissioner Dr Vanessa Caldwell said: “Making these recordings was a gross breach of trust and professional boundaries, and it is clear that this violation of privacy in the context of a consumer-provider relationship has had a significant and ongoing impact on the women involved.”
Following the charges, the man’s clients also raised concerns about other issues they had experienced, including draping techniques, consent processes, communication, and documentation.
The HDC report states the man “failed to communicate with his clients adequately prior to their massages to ensure a shared understanding of the sites to be massaged”.
‘Right at my undie line’
He would massage sensitive areas, like their breasts or inner thighs – without discussing this prior to a massage.
“Nothing was weird until he ‘massaged’ my groin,” one woman said.
“His fingers would have been right at my undie line. I told him what he was doing hurt, and he replied something like: ‘Those lumps should not be there’. I told him again [that] it really hurt, and he stopped.”
Another woman said: “When massaging there’s an invisible line of comfortable where a therapist can put their hands and make you feel at ease or vulnerable.
“The line was crossed in my mind as I had gone to have my neck muscles worked on, and he came around my collar bone and towards the centre of my chest, working so close to my nipples.”
Before massages, he would tell clients that: “When you undress, undress to your level of comfort.”
“Just understand it is a simple equation. More clothes crappier massage, also the oil might stain you[r] clothes.”
Alongside the inappropriate touching, the masseuse would also constantly talk to his clients.
“[He] talked constantly and often spoke about the massage he was performing, and it seemed like he was trying to reassure me while at the same time trying to justify to himself that his actions were innocent,” one victim said.
‘Sick to my stomach’
His conversations would on occasion delve into sexual topics.
“It makes me sick to my stomach knowing I returned to this man for treatment,” one of the women said in her victim impact statement.
“On reflection just think I was too embarrassed to complain or say anything to him.
“This man violated me, assaulted me, all while I was paying for him to do this. His actions have left me with ongoing issues that I am still to this day dealing with.’
Another said the experience “left me feeling violated and uncomfortable seeking medical services from another male practitioner”.
“I paid for [Mr A] to abuse me.”
He has since indicated to the HDC that he does not intend to practice massage again.
Following an investigation, Caldwell referred the man to the Director of Proceedings to assess if further legal action is needed.
She recommended he provide a written apology to the women who wish to receive them.
Caldwell wrote: “In my view, it is in the public interest to also hold Mr A to account for the breach findings discussed in this report, which were not the subject of the criminal proceedings.
“These include the failure to provide information that a consumer would expect to receive to enable them to give informed consent, providing services – including massage of sensitive areas – without informed consent, and failure to provide services that complied with professional standards with respect to draping practices, communication standards and documentation standards.”
The therapist was not a member of Massage New Zealand but Caldwell remained “of the view that his clients could have expected that his care would be provided in accordance with [Massage NZ] Code of Ethics”.