Massage therapist accused in sex assault

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This article was published 12/10/2022 (761 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Winnipeg police have arrested a massage therapist accused of sexually assaulting a woman during an appointment.

A woman in her 20s went to a licensed massage therapy business on the 2000 block of Portage Avenue for an appointment on Oct. 8, the Winnipeg Police Service said Thursday.

The therapist then used sexually explicit language during the massage and touched her in an unwanted and sexual manner, the woman later alleged to sex-crimes investigators.

“No one can prepare themselves for this kind of thing. You go in there with an expectation that you’re getting relief — not that you’re going to be completely traumatized,” police spokeswoman Const. Dani McKinnon said.

“I’d put it in the rare column for arrests because if it was more prominent, we’d be releasing on it for public-safety concerns.”

The victim reported the assault to the business before calling police. She wasn’t hurt physically, police said.

A 34-year-old man, whose name has not been released, is facing a sexual assault charge. He was released by the courts on an undertaking.

McKinnon confirmed the accused was a registered massage therapist, but is no longer working for the Portage Avenue business.

Would-be massage-therapy clients should make sure to go to registered clinics and ask questions about the procedure, she advised.

“Getting an outline about what this massage is going to look like, I think, is really important,” she said.

The sex-crimes unit is still investigating the incident and has asked anyone who wants to speak with an officer to call 204-986-6245.

Massage therapy is not regulated in Manitoba the same way physicians, dentists, physical therapists and other health professions are, something the executive director of the Manitoba Association of Massage Therapists laments.

“Lack of regulation in a situation like this, it’s kind of the worst-case scenario… there’s no regulatory body the public can rely on to verify if a person claiming to be an RMT is actually an RMT and is meeting minimum standards,” said Tricia Weidenbacher, a registered massage therapist.

There are four associations active in the province a massage therapist could register with, including her own, she said.

“In a situation like this, with the serious nature of the complaint, even with that, the most that we could do as an association is cancel their membership, as far as disciplinary action goes, but that wouldn’t stop somebody from joining another association or picking up and practising without an association,” she said.

“It’s very distressing.”

Weidenbacher noted her association has long been working to get the industry regulated by the province. The NDP health minister approved its application to be added to the Regulated Health Professionals Act in 2015 before Manitobans voted in the current Progressive Conservative government in 2016.

“It’s very frustrating because we have been working and doing anything that we can to impress upon the government and the minister for health’s office that this is an urgent situation — we need this, the associations cannot manage this on our own,” she said.

“It doesn’t do the public justice.”

The work to establish a new regulatory college will be led by a transitional council to be appointed by the lieutenant-governor, a government spokesperson said, adding massage therapy is one of many professions that have been approved to move to self-regulatory colleges.

A regulatory college would have the authority to grant licences to practise, maintain standards, take disciplinary actions and create a public registry of therapists, Weidenbacher said.

erik.pindera@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @erik_pindera