Elmhurst Claim Among Massage Envy Assault Allegations

ELMHURST, IL — The Elmhurst Massage Envy location is one of the businesses facing scrutiny over sexual assault allegations after a Buzzfeed report. The Buzzfeed report details sexual assault allegations against Massage Envy therapists from more than 180 women across the country. In Illinois, several women and at least one man have made accusations against the chain in recent years, including at the Elmhurst location.

In some incidents, the claims have led to arrests and, in at least one instance, a suburban massage therapist was arrested for battery at the Elmhurst Massage Envy.

In September 2014, a massage therapist at the Elmhurst Massage Envy location, 191 S. Route 83, was arrested for battery after police said he touched a client's crotch. Two months later, the client filed a lawsuit against the massage therapist, Thaddeus Scott-Chew of Chicago, and the Elmhurst location, saying Chew touched her privates without her consent and claiming the incident caused her emotional distress. The Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation refused to renew Scott-Chew's license, which expired shortly after the incident. Scott-Chew was ultimately found not guilty by a jury in 2015, according to court records, and a lawsuit filed against the Elmhurst Massage Envy location was dismissed.

While the Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation has revoked the licenses of several accused massage therapists, the Illinois Massage Envy locations — including spas in Naperville, Elmhurst, Chicago and Tinley Park — continue to operate despite the allegations and subsequent lawsuits, and new locations have opened.

In December 2016, a customer sued the Tinley Park Massage Envy, 7270 W. 191st St., accusing a therapist there of touching her inappropriately and saying she has struggled since the incident and is in therapy.
At the time a spokesman for the chain issued a statement responding to the accusations, saying, "Massage Envy Franchising, LLC has a strict Zero Tolerance Policy that addresses various types of inappropriate conduct, including making clear that such conduct is impermissible and will not be tolerated. We require franchisees to conduct a thorough investigation of any allegation and, should a therapist employed by a franchisee violate our Zero Tolerance Policy, the franchisee is required to terminate the therapist."

Related: Sexual Misconduct Widespread At Massage Chain: BuzzFeed

ABC Chicago reported that the massage therapist denied the allegation to police, but no longer worked at the Tinley Park location. The $50,000 personal injury lawsuit, originally filed in Cook County, was moved to Will County in January 2017. Massage Envy employees are scheduled to be deposed in the case on Jan. 9, 2018, according to court records, and a hearing in the case is slated for Jan. 16.

There are more than 1,000 Massage Envy locations around the country. But according to the Buzzfeed report, in places where it is not required by law, Massage Envy "does not compel its franchisees to notify law enforcement," even in cases of rape. In an email to BuzzFeed, a lawyer for Massage Envy said: "We hold franchise owners accountable to our policies and, when we say nothing is more important to us than treating clients with respect and giving them a safe, professional experience, we mean it."

According to Massage Envy's website, it has 40 locations in Illinois:

• Algonquin
• Bloomingdale
• Chicago
• Darien
• Elmhurst
• Frankfort
• Geneva
• Glen Carbon
• Glen Ellyn
• Grayslake
• Hoffman Estates
• Johnsburg
• La Grange
• Lake Zurich
• Mount Prospect
• Naperville
• Niles
• Normal
• North Aurora
• Northbrook
• O'Fallon
• Oak Lawn
• Orland Park
• Oswego
• Palatine
• Park Ridge
• Peoria
• Plainfield
• River Forest
• Rockford
• Savoy
• Schaumburg
• Shorewood
• South Elgin
• Springfield
• Tinley Park
• Vernon Hills
• Wheaton
• Wheeling
• Wilmette

Image of Naperville Massage Envy location via Google Streetview.