Has your massage therapist received a complaint? Proposed Arizona legislation would require more information online

Warning: Contains sexually explicit language and graphic content.

Arizona massage therapist Brian Villesca was accused of twisting and pinching the nipples of a female client during a 2018 massage and then whispering to her, "Do you like that?"

The client filed a complaint against him with the Arizona State Board of Massage Therapy, which licenses and investigates complaints against massage therapists. He denied the allegations, and the board ultimately dismissed the complaint and issued him only an advisory letter, which is non-disciplinary.

Villesca has a clean record in the board's online massage therapist database because there is no state law requiring that the board publish non-disciplinary actions online. 

But this would change under a bill recently introduced in the Arizona Legislature. HB 2438 would require the board to post online both disciplinary and non-disciplinary actions taken against each licensed massage therapist. This would include advisory letters, letters of reprimand, probation and "any other disciplinary or non-disciplinary action taken by the board." The information would have to be posted in a searchable format. 

The bipartisan bill, sponsored by Rep. Jennifer Longdon, D-Phoenix, comes as a result of The Arizona Republic's five-month investigation last year into sexual abuse complaints against message therapists. The Republic's investigation found that the licensing board gives many therapists second chances when they are accused of fondling or sexually abusing their clients. This puts customers in danger, and there is very little they can do to protect themselves. 

Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey, who appoints members of the Massage Board, replaced the entire Massage Therapy Board last year following The Republic's investigation. 

The newly installed board has so far taken a more aggressive stance against allegations of sexual abuse, including doing summary license suspensions of massage therapists accused of sexual abuse. This prevents them from working with the public until a formal disciplinary hearing on their licenses can be held. The previous board rarely, if ever, used emergency suspensions when dealing with complaints of sexual abuse. 

Longdon was a massage therapist and spa consultant before her career ended in 2004 when she was paralyzed in a random, drive-by shooting. 

She said The Republic's investigation caused her to reflect on issues she saw as a massage therapist and when she helped run a Valley spa. 

"After reading your story, it prompted me to say, 'Yes, this is a real problem,'" she said.

DATABASE: Tracking Arizona massage therapists accused of sexual misconduct 

Clients are very vulnerable during massages, and the state should give them the best possible protections, she said. She talked with massage industry professionals — including licensed massage therapists and people who run spas and clinics — before drafting the bill. 

"We want to make sure we're offering the best possible assurance that you're in good hands. No pun intended," she said. 

The bill would also require applicants to have a valid fingerprint clearance card in order to get a massage license or license renewal. Under this process, the person's criminal history is reviewed and if they have been convicted of certain crimes, they are ineligible to receive a card.  

The way the process works now, applicants are required to submit fingerprints to the Massage Board, which sends them to the Arizona Department of Public Safety for federal and state criminal records checks. Board staff then reviews the results. 

Members of the Arizona Massage Board have not yet taken a position on the bill. But at a board meeting on Monday, they reviewed the proposed legislation and expressed concerns that switching to a fingerprint clearance card would prevent the board from learning about an applicant's criminal history. 

The board's investigator, David Elson, told board members that switching to a fingerprint clearance card would be "taking the power out of" the board's hands because the board would just learn whether an applicant had a valid fingerprint card. Board members wouldn't know details about an applicant's criminal history. 

If a person accepted a plea bargain for a lesser offense, the board wouldn't know the original criminal charges. 

Prostitution charges, for example, are routinely reduced to the lesser offenses of trespassing or disorderly conduct through plea agreements. 

Elson said knowing these details is important to protecting public health and deciding whether to issue or renew a massage therapy license. 

"We discipline based on the behavior that led to the charge, not the actual conviction," he told board members.

Republic special report: Massage therapists accused of sexual abuse keep working 

Longdon said she may need to make amendments to the bill to address concerns raised by the board. 

"I believe it’s a good bill, but I do understand we may need to make tweaks. That happens all the time with legislation," she said. 

The bill has been assigned to the House Judiciary Committee, which is scheduled to hear the bill on Wednesday, February 2. 

Reach the reporter at anne.ryman@arizonarepublic.com or 602-444-8072. Follow her on Twitter @anneryman.