The Florida Department of Health (DOH) issued an Emergency Order on March 9, 2022, restricting the massage therapy license of Diego Holguin Cespedes in response to a report of sexual misconduct during a massage he performed while working at Massage Envy in Miami Beach. The Order prohibits Holguin Cespedes from practicing massage therapy on male clients in the State of Florida. Holguin Cespedes has been licensed as a massage therapist in Florida since November 2020.
According to the Department of Health’s Emergency Order, on November 20, 2021, Diego Holguin Cespedes was assigned to perform a 60-minute massage on a male client at Massage Envy. During the massage, Holguin Cespedes allegedly told the client to flip over, laying face up on the massage table. He massaged the client’s shoulders and neck and then worked his way down to the client’s legs and thighs. While massaging the victim’s thighs, Holguin Cespedes allegedly placed his hand up into the client’s boxer briefs from the right leg opening. He then grabbed and stroked the client’s genitals and penis according to the Order. The client tried knocking his hand away and stated, “man, what are you doing, I don’t get down like that.” Holguin Cespedes allegedly responded by saying “I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’m sorry,” and left the room. The client got dressed and told a staff member what had happened. Holguin Cespedes was fired that day from Massage Envy.
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 in order to safely practice massage therapy. Mr. Holguin Cespedes willfully abused his position as a massage therapist to sexually violate a man who trusted him to act professionally and within the boundaries of generally accepted massage therapy and treatment. Mr. Holguin Cespedes’ violation of the massage therapist-patient relationship indicates that Holguin Cespedes lacks the good moral character and judgment necessary to safely practice massage therapy.
Horowitz Law has filed numerous sexual assault lawsuits against massage therapists on behalf of clients who were inappropriately touched at Massage Envy and various massage salons and spas. 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 [email protected] for a free consultation.