Centurion masseur accused of sexually violating woman on Mother’s Day

Soul Thai Spa. Picture: soulthai.co.za.

Soul Thai Spa. Picture: soulthai.co.za.

Published May 11, 2022

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What was supposed to be a precious Mother’s Day gift turned out to be a disaster for a woman who was given a spa voucher by her daughter.

A 20-year-old women who goes by @hey_shawtyy on Twitter took to social media to share the alleged treatment her mother experienced at a spa in Centurion, Pretoria.

She said that her mother, who had been to several spas in her life locally and internationally, was allegedly sexually violated by a male masseur at the Soul Thai Spa.

The daughter explained that her mother told her that “the massage started well, then I had to turn and face up. He massaged my collar bone, with the sheet covering my breasts. He then moved between my breasts to my stomach area. I have had that before so I was okay. Pressed my stomach, and moved to my waist.

“The glands on the joints, I then started to be attentive. By the way, I’m wearing my underwear, in case you’re wondering. At this point, the sheet that was covering my breasts is moved down to my waist, exposing my breasts as he leaned over me. My eyes were covered by a towel.

“Expecting that he would move back up, he continues down and he touches my private part, it felt to me that he put the tip of his finger, whereas he later said he was merely massaging with his knuckles. I said No! Stop! Then he said ‘I’m sorry’ and asked ‘are you a single mother?”’

And that’s when the mother lost it and went to reception to ask for the manager. She says the manager told her that the guy who was massaging her was good at his job and they’ve never had complaints about him.

The daughter says the owner of the spa tried to meet up with them but they refused. Instead, they opened a case with the police.

IOL Lifestyle contacted Soul Thai regarding the incident. They say that they acknowledge the allegations made against the therapist and suspended him for further investigations.

“This is the first allegation of this nature that has been made against any of our therapists in 13 years of business. We are a 100% female-owned business and would never take any such allegations lightly. The therapist involved is an exceptionally good massage practitioner and one of the nicest people we have had the pleasure of meeting. He has denied any claims of sexual assault,” says the Soul Thai management.

Although the lady stated on Twitter that they have opened a case against the therapist, Soul Thai Spa says the charges have not yet been brought forward.

“We have made multiple attempts to meet with the client who has made these allegations but all attempts at gaining an accurate insight into the complaint have been refused. No charges have been brought upon the therapist to date but he is happy to cooperate with the police if and when necessary.

“On the day of the incident, the client returned to the spa after leaving and forcefully entered treatment rooms in search of the therapist, violating the privacy of multiple clients and proceeded to verbally assault the therapist in question, continuing to make accusations that the therapist denies,” says Soul Thai Spa.

They add that the incident has taken a negative toll on their business.

“The defamatory damage done to the reputation of the therapist in question and the business has already been immeasurable with countless cancelled appointments, requests for refunds and negative reviews (our Google Business rating has dropped from a 4.8 to 4.0 in one morning) all as a result of claims made without any substantiation.”

Soul Thai Spa adds that they will not be commenting on any public platforms as such could hinder the ongoing investigations.

Read the full thread by @hey_shawtyy below.