FL--Massage therapist is guilty of battery; Victims respond

For immediate release: Tuesday, May 10, 2016

Statement by Barbara Dorris of St. Louis, Outreach Director of SNAP, the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests (314 503 0003 cell, [email protected])

We are grateful that a judge found an ex-West Boca Massage Envy staffer guilty of battery on a female client. We hope Raymond L. Smith Jr. never again works as a massage therapist and that others with information or suspicions about his crimes will come forward, get help, call police, protect others and deter employers from acting recklessly, callously and deceitfully in such cases.

http://www.wpbf.com/news/judge-rules-guilty-verdict-in-case-involving-west-boca-massage-envy/39472196

We applaud this brave woman for doing her moral and civic duty by reporting Smith to law enforcement. We hope others who may be suffering in silence, shame and self-blame will do likewise.

We should never underestimate the emotional and psychological damage caused when a trusted individual betrays that trust, even if it’s brief or non-violent or “just one time.” The violation is often devastating, regardless of the specific crime or crimes.

No matter what company officials do or don’t do, we urge every single person who saw, suspected or suffered child sex crimes and cover ups in massage parlors – especially at Massage Envy – to protect kids by calling police, get help by calling therapists, expose wrongdoers by calling law enforcement, get justice by calling attorneys, and be comforted by calling support groups like ours. This is how kids will be safer, adults will recover, criminals will be prosecuted, cover ups will be deterred and the truth will surface.

(SNAP, the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests, is the world’s oldest and largest support group for clergy abuse victims. SNAP was founded in 1988 and has more than 20,000 members. Despite the word “priest” in our title, we have members who were molested by religious figures of all denominations, including nuns, rabbis, bishops, and Protestant ministers. Our website is SNAPnetwork.org)

Contact - David Clohessy (314-566-9790 cell, [email protected]), Barbara Dorris (314-503-0003 cell, [email protected]), Barbara Blaine (312-399-4747[email protected])

 

Judge rules guilty verdict in case involving West Boca Massage Envy

Published - 2:29 PM EDT May 10, 2016

BOCA RATON, Fla. —A Palm Beach County man has pleaded guilty to battery after he was named in a civil lawsuit filed against West Boca Massage Envy.

Raymond L. Smith Jr., a massage therapist, was charged with battery on May 10 after a woman claimed a therapist touched her genitals toward the end of the massage.

Smith did not plead guilty to battery.

Instead, the judge sentenced him to  . . .

Read full article here


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