Danis Delgado, a former massage therapist at Massage Envy in Hollywood, Florida, has been arrested and charged with a sex crime. The arrest comes almost two years after a female client filed a report alleging sexual battery during a massage appointment. Authorities received the go-ahead to arrest Danis Delgado on February 9, 2023, after DNA evidence gathered on the woman's undergarments, and a swab from Delgado provided evidence of the assault. A combination of the evidence gathered and the woman's sworn statement gave police probable cause to arrest Delgado. Delgado, age 47, moved to Texas after the criminal investigation began. Texas law enforcement officers arrested him in Richmond, Texas, on a warrant and extradited him back to Florida to appear in Broward County criminal court. Denis Delgado was charged with felony sexual battery and simple battery. He is being held on a $26,000 bond.
Denis Delgado has been a licensed massage therapist in Florida since June 2020. On March 22, 2021, the Florida Department of Health issued an Emergency Order restricting Delgado's massage therapy license on account of this incident at Massage Envy.
According to law enforcement records, on January 22, 2021, Danis Delgado was employed at a Massage Envy at the East Hollywood (West Lake Commons) location. On that day, Delgado was scheduled to provide a 60-minute massage to a 28-year-old female client. Toward the end of the massage appointment, Delgado massaged the client's upper inner thigh, reportedly moved his hand to her vaginal area, and then rubbed her vagina over her underwear. Delgado then placed his hand underneath her underwear and began to rub her vagina and play with her pubic hair, according to the arrest affidavit. Delgado tried to remove the client's underwear, and she told him not to do so. He allegedly replied, "It is just a massage." Delgado continued to massage the client's thigh and twirled her pubic hair. The client reported the alleged assault to the Hollywood Police Department on the same day it allegedly occurred. When Delgado was brought in for questioning, he denied sexual misconduct but provided a buccal swab. When tested, the DNA provided support that Delgado made contact with the interior of the alleged victim's underwear. Now two years later, after being located in Texas, Delgado is facing criminal charges.
When clients schedule a massage, it is to decompress from the stresses of life. They trust that the massage therapists employed at the spa are carefully vetted and safe to engage with the public. It is unacceptable, immoral, and unlawful for any employee to touch a client in a sexual manner. Clients of massage therapists are placed in isolated, vulnerable settings where they can be subject to abuse by their massage therapists. Due to the potential for abuse that is inherent under those circumstances, massage therapists must possess good judgment and good moral character to practice massage therapy safely.
Attorney Adam Horowitz, who represents the victim in this case, said: "This arrest highlights the importance of prompt reporting of sexual assault. Although it is difficult for victims to report such a crime, the fact is that an arrest was able to be made here in large part because of the existence of DNA evidence which could have been lost if the victim had not immediately reported her assault."
Horowitz Law has filed numerous sexual assault lawsuits against massage therapists on behalf of clients who were inappropriately touched at Massage Envy franchises and other spas and resorts. If you have been a victim of sexual assault or sexual battery during a massage, or if you know someone who has, please contact our law firm at 888-283-9922 or send an e-mail to sexual abuse lawyer Adam Horowitz for massage clients at adam@adamhorowitzlaw.com for a free consultation.