Pensacola massage therapist arrested after clients allege inappropriate touching - WEAR

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PENSACOLA, Fla. -- A massage therapist in Pensacola is facing several counts of battery after six reports were filed against him.

The reports allege that 64-year-old Joseph Greg Longe -- owner of Waterfall Massage on 9 Mile Road -- inappropriately touched his clients during a massage.

The most recent allegations against Longe were made in March of this year.

In September 2022, Jessica Fowler says her experience inside Waterfall Massage with Longe haunts her to this day.

She claims Longe groped her numerous times and rubbed her inappropriately during what was supposed to be a 30 minute massage that lasted over two hours.

"At some point he gets on my back, sitting on my back, massaging me," Fowler said. "...And then starts rubbing my stomach. I'm like, 'No one rubs on your stomach. No way. This has been a mistake or an accident.' So I start freaking out."

"In a situation like this you kind of go numb," she added. "It's like you're paralyzed and can't say anything."

A month after the incident, Fowler reported her claims to the Escambia County Sheriff's Office. Her claims were investigated, but there wasn't probable cause to pursue charges, according to the sheriff's office.

Since then, the sheriff's office says at least five others have come forward with similar claims.

More allegations came in March of this year.

On May 10, Longe was arrested and charged with four counts of battery.

The arrest report states Fowler alerted authorities of more potential victims she found through research.

Fowler says it was all online.

"Reddit, TikTok, Google -- anything you can think of, and I found it," she said. "I found so many women it happened to."

Sheriff Chip Simmons says of the six victims, one had surpassed the statute of limitations and another declined to press charges.

The sheriff says based on the evidence, there's simply not enough to charge Longe with sex crimes.

"The charges are battery -- it's unwanted touching," he said. "We looked at it for a potential sex crime, but it didn't fit statutory requirements for that. The only crime we could identify was the battery charge, which is the unwanted touching of an individual."

Fowler says she stays in touch with the other victims, but still struggles to maintain a sense of normalcy. She adds she's glad to see an arrest made, but won't rest easy until the case is closed.

"You lost all sense of security after that, there's no getting that back," Fowler said.

Longe appeared in court Tuesday for an arraignment, but the hearing was postponed to July. He was released from jail on May 12 on $70,000 bond.

The sheriff's office urges anyone who thinks they've been the victim of a crime to report it immediately.

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