Two South Bay franchises of the popular Massage Envy chain are being sued over reported sexual assaults of clients that led to two masseuses being criminally charged, adding to a litany of misconduct allegations that spans more than a decade.
The latest litigation, filed earlier this month in Santa Clara County and San Mateo County and announced Thursday, involves former employees at Massage Envy locations in Campbell and Palo Alto accused of assaulting clients in 2023 and 2024. Both men are currently being prosecuted in the local Superior Court.
Massage Envy has been dogged by hundreds of lawsuits across the country claiming their sexual assaults by masseuses were downplayed or ignored, and that no warnings were given to future and prospective clients. Bobby Thompson, plaintiff attorney for the new lawsuits whose firm has previously sued Massage Envy over similar claims, said the litigation is necessary to ensure broader accountability.
“The criminal prosecutions are important because they expose the ongoing problem of sexual assaults at Massage Envy locations here in the Bay Area. But the criminal justice system only holds the individual massage therapists accountable,” Thompson said in a statement. “It’s now time to hold the owners of these Massage Envy clinics accountable in the civil justice system for their egregious failures.”
Massage Envy’s corporate office in Scottsdale, Ariz. did not immediately respond to a request for comment Thursday.
The pair of lawsuits allege violations including negligence, battery and infliction of emotional distress, and seek unspecified general, medical and punitive damages.
One of the lawsuits, filed May 2, involves a woman identified as Jane Doe who visited a Massage Envy in Palo Alto on Nov. 10, 2023 and was assigned to masseuse Arturo Gomez. During her session, Doe claimed that Gomez groped her thighs and buttocks, and at one point sexually penetrated her with his fingers.
She reported the incident to police, and Gomez was arrested and charged the following February. His criminal charges advanced past a preliminary examination, and the case is currently in trial setting. While the assault was reported in Palo Alto, Jane Doe’s litigation was filed in San Mateo County because the franchise’s operators are based in Redwood City, according to the lawsuit.
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In a second related lawsuit, a plaintiff identified in a filing as John Doe stated that he went to a Massage Envy in Campbell on Sept. 13, 2024 to get a massage while his car was getting detailed at a nearby car wash. During the massage, Doe claimed that his masseuse, Rolando Salom, pulled down his boxer shorts and performed oral sex on him without his consent, prompting Doe to abruptly end the massage and report the encounter to police.
The district attorney’s office charged Salom four days later. His case is pending.
“The owners of these Massage Envy locations betrayed me and all unsuspecting customers by continuing to put us in rooms with sexual perpetrators just so they could make money,” John Doe said in a statement. “Join us in exposing and ending what the owners of Massage Envy clinics in Palo Alto, Campbell and beyond have allowed to continue for years: sexual assault behind closed doors.”
