Massage therapist faces time in prison

WEST CHESTER >> Victims of a massage therapist who sexually assaulted women during sessions at a West Goshen spa spoke at the man’s sentencing hearing Thursday, telling the judge in the case not only how it felt to have been violated during their sessions but also of the anger they feel toward the spa itself.

James R. Deiter of Lancaster County entered guilty pleas to charges that he sexually molested nine women while he was working at the Massage Envy spa between the fall of 2014 and the spring of 2015. Authorities later learned that Deiter, a licensed massage therapist, had been briefly suspended

by the spa for alleged inappropriate contact with one of his clients, but that the incident had not been reported to police and he was permitted to keep working at the spa.

The 64-year-old Deiter was sentenced to 6½ to 13 years in state prison on three counts of felony aggravated indecent assault, and six counts of indecent assault, a misdemeanor. He will also have to register as a sex offender for the rest of his life and serve three years state supervised probation.

Three of Deiter’s victims addressed Common Pleas Judge William P. Mahon during the proceeding, while two others asked the prosecutor who handled the case, Assistant District Attorney Cynthia Morgan, to read their statements for them. Seven of the nine victims were present in the courtroom for the sentencing.

The first of the statements was given by the woman who had gone to West Goshen police in May 2015 and whose report of being sexually assaulted by Deiter led

eventually to his arrest in the cases of the eight other women. None of the women are being identified by the Daily Local News because of the nature of the charges.

“It is still so painful to think of myself as a victim,” said the woman, who had visited the spa on numerous occasions previously and had formed a friendly relationship with Deiter as her therapist. She told Mahon that she felt “sad and ashamed” at being “tricked” by Deiter into trusting during their sessions.

“He knew how to instill trust,” she said, referring to him as a “sexual predator.” He reminded her of a “kind uncle who I knew growing up” while they discussed church activities together.

“There is no hope for a full recovery,” the woman said.

But she also leveled accusations at Massage Envy, calling the company Deiter’s “partner in crime,” and accusing the local managers of allowing him to return to practice even after a complaint against him surfaced. She said she would work to pass legislation that would require massage spas to report to police any allegations of sexual impropriety by licensed therapists or

other workers.

A lawsuit has been filed in Philadelphia Common Pleas Court against the national corporation that owns the Massage Envy spa in West Goshen, asking for damages to a client who was assaulted by Deiter after his suspension ended. Attorneys for both the plaintiffs and the defendants were in Mahon’s courtroom for Deiter’s sentencing.

Attorney Thomas Bellwoar of West Chester, who filed the lawsuit with a colleague on behalf of a former Massage Envy client known as “Jane Doe,” offered this comment after the proceeding:

“Today’s guilty plea by Mr. Deiter is an important first step in seeking justice for the victims of Massage Envy,” he said.

“Equally important now is shining a spotlight on how Massage Envy allowed these repeated sexual assaults to occur under its supervision. It shocks the conscience that Massage Envy was aware that their employee was a sexual predator and didn’t lift a finger to stop him,” Bellwoar said.

The lawsuit asks for more than $50,000 in damages for the woman, who it says was molested by Deiter in March

2015. The alleged assault came after another unidentified woman complained to the spa’s management that Deiter had sexually assaulted her during a massage session.

The franchise owners, a company known as Spa Dogs located in West Chester, as well as the chain and its corporate owners, Roark Capital of Atlanta, Ga., should be held responsible for the assault Deiter committed against the woman, the complaint contends.

What the woman did not know, the suit says, is that in January 2014 a woman had reported to a Massage Envy employee that she had been sexually assaulted by Deiter during a session with him. According to the suit, employees at the West Chester location were told by other company personnel not to report the complaint either to the local police or the state Board of Massage therapy, but rather to handle the matter “in-house.”

No investigation was done at the West Goshen location, and Deiter was “merely suspended for one week and allowed to return to full duty thereafter with no restrictions concerning his access to female customers,” the complaint alleges. The personnel

there continued to recommend him to female customers, including Jane Doe, according to the complaint.

Attempts to reach the company’s spokeswoman in Scottsdale, Ariz., Karen Sung, were unsuccessful.

Standing beside his attorney, Pater Kratsa of the West Chester law firm of MacElree Harvey, Deiter attempted to apologize for his actions, saying he did not know why he had committed the crimes.

“I want everybody to know how I am truly sorry,” said Deiter, dressed in a royal blue polo shirt, tan pants, and wearing a greying beard. “Even though I don’t deserve it, I hope forgiveness can come.”

As described by Morgan, the crimes took place between September 2014 and May 2015. The victims are all female, and came to Massage Envy for deep tissue massages, some for several months before being assaulted by Deiter. They would be lying on a table without clothing on, covered by a sheath as they turned onto their backs and stomachs.

In some cases, Deiter touched their breasts and genitals; in other cases, he

pressed his own genitals against their body. The misconduct came in one case in a client’s first visit to the spa; in other cases after previous visits. The women reported being shocked at what had happened and never returning for subsequent sessions.

Deiter was arrested by West Goshen Detectives Michael Carroll and Jose Torres after the women who gave a statement to Mahon reported his behavior. Morgan said he first denied having any improper contact with her, then admitted that he indeed had “crossed the line.” Eventually, he told police that he had molested a number of women at the spa, Morgan told Mahon.

He has been held on bail since his arrest last year.

In addition to his prison term, Deiter must undergo a sex offender’s evaluation, and an assessment to determine whether he should be classified as a sexually violent predator.

Mahon, in addressing the victims in his courtroom, urged them to put the trauma behind them by granting Deiter’s wish for forgiveness. “Forgiveness is a release,” he said. “You deserve forgiveness. Otherwise you will find yourself trapped.”