Complaint against massage therapist postponed for 4th time - Berkshire Eagle

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By Kristin Palpini, The Berkshire Eagle

GREAT BARRINGTON — For the fourth time, a hearing on Veronica Martin's allegation that she was sexually harassed during a massage was delayed.
Martin filed her complaint against a Great Barrington massage therapist with the Massachusetts Board of Registration of Massage Therapy in October 2016, but the board has yet to discuss it.

Martin's case was scheduled to be heard Nov. 13, according to Martin and a representative from the office of state Sen. Adam Hinds, D-Pittsfield. After Martin contacted his office this fall regarding the board's inaction, Hinds assigned a staffer to follow Martin's case and inquire about the holdup, on her behalf.

The Nov. 13 hearing didn't take place, because the board did not meet because of a lack of a quorum, meaning that not enough board members showed up to legally have a meeting.

The Board of Registration of Massage Therapy rescheduled the meeting for Nov. 20 in Boston. Martin said she has been told by the board's office that her hearing is scheduled to be heard at this time. So far, the posted four-hour agenda includes two "adjudicatory hearings."

It isn't clear why Martin's complaint is taking so long to work its way through the system. The board's vice chairman has declined to comment on an ongoing case.

Martin alleges that, during a massage in June 2016, her therapist made sexual comments to her and exposed Martin's body in a way that made Martin uncomfortable.

Martin doesn't consider what allegedly happened to her June 28, 2016, a crime, necessarily, but she does believe that the therapist breached the state's massage therapist code of ethics, which has been enshrined in Code of Massachusetts Regulations.

That is why Martin reported the alleged incident to the board instead of to police.

Kristin Palpini can be contacted at kpalpini@berkshireeagle.com and @kristinpalpini on Twitter.


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