Bucks County Massage Therapist Gets Prison For Groping

A man convicted of sexually assaulting two female clients last summer while working as a massage therapist at a Falls Township Hand and Stone has been sentenced to prison.

David Elijah Ward, 37, of Bensalem was sentenced Monday in Bucks County Court to four to 23 months in county jail. He was charged last summer with assaulting two female victims during massage appointments at the chain's North Oxford Valley Road location.

A jury in April convicted Ward of two misdemeanor counts of indecent assault. He is no longer able to work as a licensed massage therapist, said Deputy District Attorney Kristin M. McElroy said when he was convicted.

According to information from the Bucks County District Attorney's Office, the first victim was a 26-year-old woman who said that during her massage, Ward slipped his hand under her underwear and began massaging her vagina.

She told authorities that Ward also "caressed and pinched" her breasts over a covering sheet.

The second victim, a 52-year-old woman, described a similar assault around the same time period. She later called Hand and Stone’s corporate office to report the assault, which responded by terminating Ward.

The victims testified that they did not know one another, and had made their reports independently.

Ward denied touching either victim inappropriately.