Lawsuit, criminal charges allege massage clinic sexual assault - seattlepi.com

[massage]

A massage therapist worked without a license and is accused of assaulting clients, complaints say


By Lynsi Burton, SeattlePI

Updated 5:01 pm, Friday, April 20, 2018

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L.H. Massage, located in the 31500 block of Pacific Highway South in Federal Way, was sued by a client earlier this month with claims of sexual assault by one of its workers, who also was charged with two counts of indecent liberties.

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L.H. Massage, located in the 31500 block of Pacific Highway South in Federal Way, was sued by a client earlier this month with claims of sexual assault by one of its workers, who also was charged with two

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Photo: Google Maps

Lawsuit, criminal charges allege massage clinic sexual assault


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When 40-year-old Andrea Taylor went to L.H. Massage in Federal Way one evening in February, where she'd gone several times before, an employee she'd never seen before arrived to treat her.


The worker, identified as 49-year-old Xiaodong Yang, allegedly touched her buttocks in a way the woman felt was unusual, then continued to her inner thigh and inserted his fingers into her genitalia, according to criminal and civil reports.


In her shock, it took awhile for Taylor to react, but she soon sat up and Yang left the room, but he later returned to finish the massage and he kept her there much longer than a typical massage, court records say. The pair were alone in the clinic and she was afraid of what else he might do, reports indicate.


Now Yang is saddled with two criminal charges for sexual assault and his alleged actions led Taylor to sue L.H. Massage for employing someone who not only is accused of repeatedly assaulting clients, but also worked without a state-required massage license.


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Taylor alerted police to her experience and the officer who took the report recalled a previous complaint at the same business.


A 32-year-old woman and her husband went to L.H. Massage on Christmas last year for a couple's massage, according to the incident report, but a couple's room was not available, so they were assigned to separate rooms.


That woman's allegations were similar: She claimed Yang massaged her inner thighs and worked his way toward her genitalia. She prompted him to not touch her any higher than her mid-thigh, reports say.


Later, he allegedly pulled her arms up, which caused her to exposed her chest, and he commented, "Wow!" according to the Federal Way report. The woman told police she felt violated.


Police arrested Yang at L.H. Massage March 1 and he bailed out of jail April 4, King County Jail records indicate. He told authorities he did not have a massage license, but worked at the business six days a week.


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Washington state law says working as a massage therapist without a license amounts to a misdemeanor.


Lawand Anderson, one of Taylor's attorneys, said that while Yang was criminally charged, the civil complaint will aim to hold his employers responsible for knowingly hiring an unlicensed therapist and allowing him to work after police were alerted to the Christmas Day incident.


"A civil suit is one of the only real ways to ensure that businesses take seriously its obligation to protect its clients from harm," she wrote in an email. "A business will only stop its bad behavior through these types of law suits. Unfortunately, in a criminal matter, accountability almost never reaches the business."


Yang was charged in March with two counts of indecent liberties.


SeattlePI reporter Lynsi Burton can be reached at 206-448-8381 or lynsiburton@seattlepi.com. Follow her on Twitter at @LynsiBurton_PI. Find more from Lynsi here on her author page.


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