A massage therapist has relinquished his license after he was accused of inappropriately touching a 28-year-old female patient during a massage at an Orlando facility.
Last week, the Florida Department of Health’s Board of Massage Therapy issued a final order accepting Brandon Lee Rowley’s voluntary relinquishment of his massage therapy license.
Rowley, who resides in Winter Garden, voluntarily relinquished his license in January of 2025.
According to an administrative complaint, on or around May 19, 2024, Rowley provided massage therapy services to a 28-year-old female patient at The Spa Orlando, which is located at 1010 Arthur Avenue in Orlando.
The complaint says that in preparation for the massage, the patient “disrobed to her lower undergarments, laid face-down on the massage table, and covered herself with a sheet.”
Several times during the massage, Rowley allegedly leaned over the patient and “ran his hand down her back to her hip.” The complaint further states that Rowley “moved his hand around and underneath [the patient’s] pelvis, beneath her underwear, and close to her vagina.”
The patient claimed that she could “feel [Rowley’s] groin and/or penis rub against her hands” while he leaned over her.
During the massage, Rowley allegedly “put his hands under [the patient’s] underwear to massage her gluteal muscles.” The complaint then states that Rowley “moved his hands further down [the patient’s] leg, pulling her underwear away from her body.”
The patient’s legs were then “improperly draped” by Rowley, “leaving her labia exposed.” Rowley then allegedly proceeded to massage the patient’s “inner thighs,” and his “hands and fingers repeatedly touched her labia,” according to the complaint.
When the patient “turned over,” Rowley began massaging her legs, and his hands and fingers allegedly “brushed her labia.”
The complaint further states that Rowley “massaged [the patient’s] breasts, including her nipples, multiple times.”
Prior to the massage, the patient “did not provide written specific informed consent for [Rowley] to undrape her labia.” She also did not provide written consent for Rowley to “touch and/or massage her breasts, labia, or buttocks.”
“[Rowley] used the massage therapist-patient relationship to engage, or attempt to engage, [the patient] in sexual activity outside of the scope of practice or generally accepted examination and treatment,” reads the complaint.
According to the voluntary relinquishment filed with the Florida Department of Health, Mendez agreed to “never reapply for licensure as a massage therapist in the State of Florida.” He also agreed to fully waive his “statutory privilege of confidentiality,” which made the complaint and case public record.
In addition, Rowley has agreed to “waive all rights to seek judicial review of, or to otherwise challenge or contest the validity of” the relinquishment or the final order issued by the Florida Department of Health.