First hearing set in complaint against Great Barrington massage therapist - Berkshire Eagle

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By Kristin Palpini, The Berkshire Eagle

Almost two years after Veronica Martin filed a sexual misconduct complaint against a licensed massage therapist, the issue remains pending.
And the accused therapist is still seeing clients.

In 2016, Martin says, a massage therapist treating her in his Great Barrington office said, while giving her a massage, that he was sexually aroused and wanted to see her again, without charging a fee.

That prompted Martin to file a complaint against the therapist with the state Board of Registration of Massage Therapy.

The first hearing on the complaint has now been scheduled for Oct. 2, Martin said, nearly two years after her Oct. 18, 2016, filing.

"I'm relieved — finally," said Martin, a personal assistant. "The Board [of Registration of Massage Therapists] keeps saying why it's taking so long is because they've got to go through due process. Of course, everyone gets due process, but where is my due process?"

In Martin's wait for action, she's not alone.

The state auditor found that the Division of Professional Licensure routinely neglected to address complaints in a timely and effective manner, allowing potentially unqualified or dangerous people to work when perhaps they should have been reprimanded or lost their licenses. The division oversees jobs such as electrician, barber, psychologist, Realtor, social worker, veterinarian and massage therapist.

It is not known whether other complaints to boards of registration have lingered as long or longer than Martin's.

In response to the review, the Division of Professional Licensure has established new guidelines and a team to keep track of complaints.

"DPL reports it is updating its monitoring policies and procedures and is utilizing its complaint database to generate reports to monitor timely resolution of complaints," Mike Wessler, the state auditor's director of communications, said in an email. The DPL does not comment on ongoing investigations, but did outline steps taken to improve the complaint process.

What happened

The Division of Professional Licensure's deficiency was revealed in August, when the state released the auditor's survey, which analyzed complaints filed from July 2015 to June 2016. While the audit found that the division often wasn't meeting its investigation deadline goals, it did note any underlying reasons.

Some investigations simply take longer than a few months, especially if the accused gets a lawyer, the report said. The division also had not established a tracking system to monitor how long complaints were taking to be addressed or at what stage they were being processed.

"There are a wide variety of cases that are investigated from simple ticket cases to complex engineering, real estate and health care cases," the Division of Professional Licensure responded in the audit.

The division also reported changing computer systems during the audit. Through the transition, some cases fell through the cracks.

But the division reported that when a "serious threat" to public safety is reported, the division takes immediate action.

"Where there is an immediate and serious threat to public health, safety or welfare, DPL suspends or revokes a licenses immediately," the Division of Professional Licensure wrote in its official response to the audit. "This action prohibits any continued practice by the licensee in his/her registered profession."

Martin was unconvinced.

"Is sexual assault not on that list?" Martin said. "In the complaint, I said that this man has my home address. I had to get a deadbolt."

Martin alleges that during a massage in June 2016, after receiving about half of the 90-minute treatment, she agreed to an abdomen massage, and the massage therapist removed the blanket that had been covering her bare stomach and breasts.

He then began to apply his hands to her abdomen while leaving her torso uncovered. That's when the therapist allegedly told Martin about how "beautiful" he thinks she is.

"He said he'd like to see me again, but that he feels it would be unethical to charge me when I come back," Martin said. "He said that as a professional, he's not supposed to become sexually aroused by anyone on his table, but that with me, it's been impossible."

She added, "I think it was referencing the arousal in his pants that really made me no longer have doubt that this guy was breaking the moral code."

When someone makes a complaint to the state about a licensed professional, the grievance is investigated by the Office of Investigations, which is under the Massachusetts Office of Consumer Affairs and Business Regulation. Once that investigation is completed, it gets referred to the board of registration that licenses the professional under review.

The board can then decide whether to dismiss the claim or refer it to the Office of Prosecutions for a show cause hearing or return it to the Office of Investigations for further analysis.

In 2016, the most recent year for which information is available, 222 complaints to the massage board were investigated, 181 complaints were closed and 49 were dismissed, according to the Division of Professional Licensure's annual report.

What's next

To correct the Division of Professional Licensure's issue addressing complaints quickly, the division has developed monthly reports on the status of complaints. A case management team was formed that meets weekly to review the monthly reports and statuses. The division also is reviewing the standards it set for itself to make sure they still are reasonable.

The state auditor's department reviews state agencies every three years, a spokesperson for the office said, so another DPL review should be out in 2020.

Kristin Palpini can be reached at [email protected], @kristinpalpini on Twitter, 413-629-4621.


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