Suburban Iowa massage therapy center owner charged with sex abuse months after surrendering...

[massage]

Anna Spoerre Des Moines Register

Published 12:23 PM EDT Apr 10, 2019


An Ankeny man was arrested Tuesday after a woman said he inappropriately touched her during a neck massage at a suburban therapy center, police said.

Kevin Thoren, 64, was charged with third-degree sex abuse after prosecutors alleged he touched a woman's vagina during a therapy session at Banyan Tree Health Therapy in Windsor Heights, which he owns.

A woman told police that when she visited Thoren for a November appointment, he began working on her neck, but then covered her eyes with a cloth, asking her if her "sexual energy had increased," according to a criminal complaint.

The woman said Thoren then shook the sheet covering her body and told her he was going to "work on her vaginal area," court records show.

The woman told police that she "froze and was in shock" as he began to touch her vagina through her clothing, according to the criminal complaint. She told him "enough," and then left the business, later telling police "she couldn't believe it."

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In February, Thoren told Windsor Heights police that he touched the woman's stomach area while "performing energy work," causing her to orgasm. He denied the woman's accusations, telling police he "always stays above the pubic bone," police records show.

In a follow-up interview, the woman told police that she didn't orgasm, but was "terrified" that he was touching her.

In September, Thoren voluntarily surrendered his massage license to the Iowa Board of Massage Therapy after the board found prior misconduct, after he allegedly touched a woman's breasts without her permission. The board charged him with one count of improper sexual contact.

But in February, he told police he was still performing massage therapy services, adding that he had performed about half a dozen since surrendering his license.

Thoren was being held without bond Wednesday at the Polk County Jail. No attorney for him was listed in online court records.

Anna Spoerre is a breaking news reporter at the Des Moines Register. She can be contacted at [email protected], 515-284-8387 or on Twitter at @annaspoerre.

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