On September 26, 2017, a lawsuit was filed in the District of Columbia Superior Court, naming Massage Envy, one of the largest providers of massage services in the United States. Massage Envy has approximately 1200 locations nationwide. On September 17, 2017, the plaintiff—a married woman in her 20s (referred herein as “Jane Doe,” given the sensitive nature of the claims)—was in the final 15 minutes of her 90 minute massage at the Massage Envy located at 4926 Wisconsin Avenue, N.W., Washington, D.C. The masseur placed an eye pillow over Ms. Doe’s eyes. Without consent or invitation, the masseur then moved the sheet that was covering Ms. Doe’s pelvic area and licked her vagina. Ms. Doe was in a state of shock, and immediately began pulling the sheet up to cover herself; she then asked the masseur to get out of the room. Ms. Doe was taken to the hospital, where she was given a “rape kit” test and was administered various medications to try and combat any sexually transmitted infections. She will not know whether she has received any such sexually transmitted infections for quite some time. The masseur has been arrested, and his name is publically available. According to news reports, Massage Envy received prior complaints of a very similar nature about this same masseur —before Ms. Doe was a patron.
Ms. Doe’s goal in filing this lawsuit is to obtain compensation for the damages she has suffered and will continue to suffer, and, as importantly, to make sure that no other patron of a Massage Envy establishment ever experiences a sexual assault. Wayne Cohen, one of the lawyers for Ms. Doe, has the following comment: “It is our hope that through the filing of this case, no other woman will be subjected to this type of terrible sexual assault at a Massage Envy location. It is imperative that the company, in all approximately 1,200 locations, implement proper screening, training, and supervision of its employees and contractors.” Ms. Doe is also represented by Kim Brooks Rodney, and Adam Leighton.
The lawsuit documents can be found below. Inquiries should be directed to Wayne Cohen, of the law firm of Cohen & Cohen (www.cohenandcohen.net) at [email protected]. Anyone with information about this case is asked to contact Adam Leighton at [email protected]
