Massage customer: I was touched inappropriately. Miami masseur: ‘You have a bad memory’
Faced with the testimony of a woman who said she remembers exactly how her neck and shoulder massage turned into something inappropriately sexual, the Miami massage therapist in question told the woman: “Then, you have a bad memory.”
The administrative law judge in the state hearing didn’t agree with Felix Bolanos Oliva.
On the recommendation of Administrative Law Judge Robert S. Cohen, the state Board of Massage Therapy revoked Bolanos’ license on Oct. 21 for actions during an April 16, 2003, massage at Miami’s DaniHands spa.
Bolanos had been limited to male massage clients by an emergency restriction order, which the Florida Department of Health placed on him in June 2023 after receiving a report from the DaniHands client. The woman also posted a Google review warning women to stay from DaniHands which, she testified, a DaniHands manager tried to get her to change to a positive review.
READ MORE: A Miami massage therapist can’t massage women after an inappropriate conduct accusation
Cohen said the Florida Department of Health proved during the disputed facts Zoom hearing that Bolanos “engaged or attempted to engage (the woman) in sexual activity by intentional contact with her breasts; actual or attempted contact with her genitalia (even if only on the outer area); and the intentional undraping of the breasts and buttocks to an extent that was not necessary to perform a massage focusing on her neck, shoulder, and even her back and legs.”
Bolanos had been licensed since Nov. 14, 2018.
As for DaniHands’ license, it isn’t affected — if it exists. A search of the Florida Department of Health’s license database turns up no license for a “DaniHands,” although “DaniHands LLC” has been registered do do business in the state of Florida since 2018.
DaniHands used to be at 2300 Coral Way, then shared the location of licensed massage establishment Bodysense, 2292 Coral Way. Though the company website lists its current address as 3875 SW Eighth St., there’s a skin care business at that address. State records say DaniHands LLC switched its operating address to 3467 SW Eighth St. on Oct. 18. As of Tuesday, that commercial space appeared to be undergoing renovation.
The person answering DaniHands’ number Tuesday declined to give the business’ address, and didn’t answer texted questions about the alleged Google review request or questions about DaniHands massage establishment license number.
A pain in the neck and hands elsewhere
According to administrative law hearing testimony, a 33-year-old Louisiana photographer flew into Miami on April 16, 2023, to shoot a wedding. She’d been getting massages twice a week to deal with neck and shoulder injuries, so she scheduled a massage at DaniHands and went straight there after landing at Miami International Airport.
READ MORE: A Miami physician assistant admitted attempted rape. He’s still licensed, not in prison
The woman said the DaniHands receptionist greeted her, then turned her over to Bolanos. In the massage room, the woman told Bolanos she wanted firm pressure and a focus on her neck and a right shoulder knot. She said she “disrobed to her lower undergarments” and lay face down on the massage table under a sheet.
Bolanos pulled the sheet down to the woman’s waist and started massaging her back, then started on her right leg with her back still undraped.
The woman “began to feel uncomfortable when (Bolanos) moved the drape so her entire leg and part of her bottom was exposed,” the hearing report said. “She began to feel uncomfortable at this point, thinking it was strange to be so exposed when her leg was being massaged.
“(The woman) noted that rather than massaging her leg, (Bolanos) was stretching her leg away from her body in such a manner as to expose her genital area without re-draping her to better cover her exposed areas.”
Bolanos asked the woman to turn over, she testified.
“Next, (Bolanos) put his hands beneath (the woman’s) shoulders and massaged her back while she was lying on her back, which she found unusual,” the hearing report said. “He, then, moved down to massage her sides, followed by her stomach, then the sides of her breasts, in between her breasts, and, finally, putting his hands under the waist of her underwear in her hip area, then gradually working around to the front of her underwear.
“When (Bolanos) put his hand on the front of her underwear, she grabbed the hand and stopped him,” the report continued. “At this point, (she) feared that she might be sexually assaulted by (Bolanos), but when she grabbed his hand and said, ‘I just wanted a massage,’ he pulled his hand away.”
As Bolanos began to massage her head, the woman testified, she “felt disgusted and trapped and just wanted to get dressed, walk out and get away from DaniHands.”
Only Bolanos stood at the front desk when the woman left. She paid and left.
Bolanos “repeatedly asked (the woman) why she did not stop him at every point of the massage where she felt uncomfortable and even why she paid him at the end of the massage,” Judge Cohen’s hearing summary said. ““Her answers were consistent that she was afraid to confront him about anything and just wanted to extricate herself from the situation without putting her safety in jeopardy.
“(Bolanos) continued to explain that his actions during the massage were focused on working on her neck and shoulder issues, when, in fact, he spent little, if any, time on those areas and was focused on her back, sides, stomach and even her breasts and pubic area.”
Reactions
The woman testified that once out of DaniHands’ door, she immediately called her sister in Louisiana. So soon after being traumatized, she said, she didn’t remember exactly what she told her sister.
The woman texted a police officer pal who told her, in Louisiana, she could file a police report on this over the phone. She figured she could do the same thing with Miami police after she got back to Louisiana after the wedding. Except for the bride, she testified, she told no one else and gave the bride few details to keep the focus on the wedding.
“Once she returned home and called Miami police, she was told she could not make the report over the phone, but had to come, in person, to the Miami Police Department to make a complaint,” the hearing summary said.
She didn’t come back to Miami for that, but she did file a report to the Department of Health and posted a one-star Google review for DaniHands.
“If you’re a female, please do not go here,” the review said. “This place is not a safe environment and if you’re looking for a professional massage, that is not what they’re doing here. I wish someone had written this review for me to see before I made an appointment.”
DaniHands responded on Google, “We are sorry that you didn’t have a good experience with us. We are a professional and respectful business. We will investigate what happened, we do not tolerate this behavior.”
The woman testified DaniHands texted her to ask what happened. A supervisor, she said, offered free services, told her they would fire Bolanos, but also asked her “to change her negative review to a more positive one.”
She didn’t.
