LAS VEGAS (KTNV) — Sexual violations in the massage industry are more common than you might realize.
13 Investigates has learned that most incidents of abuse during massage are never reported— leading to predatory behavior and leaving a trail of victims.
This is the exclusive story of a Las Vegas massage therapist who assaulted two women in less than five months.
The massage therapist in this case was arrested, charged and released from jail pending trial. While out of jail, he got hired at a different spa and did it again— assaulting another woman during a massage. How could that happen?
We're asking the tough questions about possible failures in state oversight and employer background checks.
This is something that's going to stay with her forever.
Attorney Rob Murdock said this when his client was sexually assaulted by her massage therapist. She didn't know that he'd done it before.
"And what he did in this case to my client was not just violent, it was penetration—digital penetration—and it was awful," Murdock said.
David Peter Trecha is currently serving two to 10 years in prison after pleading guilty in July to felony attempted sexual assault.
Court records show he assaulted the woman during a couple's massage in February at Massage Heights on Warm Springs and Stephanie in Henderson.
My client goes in with her boyfriend; he's getting a massage by someone, and then she's getting a massage by Mr. Trecha in the same room.
She alerted her boyfriend right after it happened and he immediately confronted Trecha, pushed him out of the room and notified the spa manager and police.
Murdock's client, identified in a lawsuit by her initials A.M., is suing Trecha and the Massage Heights franchisee that hired him while criminal charges were pending against him in another sexual assault case.
Court records show on September 30, 2023, Trecha assaulted a female client at the Westgate Hotel's Serenity Spa. The victim was visiting Las Vegas for her bachelorette party.
"Westgate reported it immediately to the massage board, they called the police and Mr. Trecha was arrested," Murdock explained.
The victim told a Clark County grand jury that Trecha was moaning and grunting while repeatedly grabbing her hair in his fist and pushing her face into the massage pillow. She said he used his nails to scratch her body, massaged her breasts and pinched her nipples. Terrified, she made up an excuse to stop the massage early and says Trecha told her he knew she was with a group of people and not to tell anyone.
Though he hadn't yet been indicted when Massage Heights hired him— he had been arrested for the Westgate case and was facing gross misdemeanor charges for lewdness.
If a person is out on bail, they have a criminal record. Massage Heights had a duty to really investigate this person. All someone had to do was look. And they didn't.
Massage Heights claims it did look, but its background check missed Trecha's recent arrest. Through a public relations firm, Allison Mizener, the independent owner of the Adobe Plaza franchise location, sent a statement saying: "It is our policy to conduct background checks for all employees prior to hire and after completing them for Mr. Trecha, the records did not reveal a criminal history."
When we asked why the check missed Trecha's recent arrest and court activity, she replied: "We conducted a criminal background check as well as an Employee Verification System through the National Association of Spa Franchises (NASF). We cannot provide any additional details on this pending litigation at this time."
We have a zero-tolerance policy for inappropriate behavior and sexual misconduct, which is why Mr. Trecha was terminated. We have been working with the Henderson Police in their investigation, and the incident has been reported to the Nevada Massage Therapy Board. At hire, Mr. Trecha had a current massage therapy license issued by the state of Nevada, which includes criminal background screening and requirements for extensive training. He also received training on and signed our zero-tolerance policy.
Executive Director Liz Barnard of the Nevada State Board of Massage Therapy said the board only conducts a background check when someone first applies for a license.
Darcy Spears: So, they could commit crimes after getting licensed, which would not be reflected?
Liz Barnard: Correct. But at least at their initial licensing, a background check was done.
Darcy Spears: Do you think that's enough protection for the public?
Liz Barnard: In many cases, it seems to be.
Trecha got his Nevada license in early June 2023— three and half months before the Westgate assault.
"Obviously, there are some that have more of a predatory nature that I believe figure out how to work the system," Barnard said.
When Trecha was arrested for assaulting A.M., state records show he first denied touching her genitals, then changed his story, telling police it was an accident and the sheet may have slipped upwards and inside her body. During transport to the Henderson Detention Center, court records show Trecha began to cry when police told him sexual assault was a felony, saying, "I need help. I am sorry, this is going to kill my mother. She's already been through this once," and "I'm going back to Canada."
Watch the full investigative piece
Darcy Spears: Does the board have a process for following up on what's happening with cops and the courts to ensure they don't miss anything?
Liz Barnard: We absolutely will follow along.
However, in this case, Trecha's license was listed as active and in good standing after his first arrest in September, second arrest in February and grand jury indictment in March.
Darcy Spears: When something like that happens, has the board ever considered doing some sort of notification, like putting an asterisk next to a licensee's name indicating they've been indicted for sexually assaulting a massage client?
Liz Barnard: It's certainly something I can consider and take to legal counsel to see if we could do that. I would love to be able to do that if it doesn't infringe on somebody's rights.
Barnard later told me the board's lawyer said it would be an infringement. In an email, she wrote that the board: "Would love another tool to assist with their mission of protecting the public. However, due process makes for a tricky balancing act. Circumventing it, even with the best of intentions, puts us in the wrong."
State records show Trecha still had his license after he was convicted and sent to prison.
In October, Trecha's license was finally revoked for 10 years, the maximum allowed by Nevada law. He was also fined $35,000. The board says it's unlikely he'll pay, but Murdock says someone has to, which is why his client is suing Massage Heights.
"And Massage Heights has been in the news a lot," Murdock said. "There was a case down in Texas where there was a $3.3 million verdict for basically the same--or similar—type thing."
13 Investigates found in 2022, a U.S. District Court jury in Houston held Massage Heights franchising liable for the sexual assault of a customer. In an interview with Franchise Times--a business publication for the franchise industry--the victim's attorney said Massage Heights executives knew incidents of sexual assault at their franchises were "A pervasive problem." Still, he believed they were "Not making changes."
In Las Vegas in 2013, 13 Investigates broke the story of therapist James Brian Goins who was accused of assaulting two women within two weeks. One assault happened at the other Massage Heights franchise in Henderson, which is under a different ownership than the current case. Authorities filed felony charges in the wake of our investigation and Goins was convicted in October 2015.
"It was foreseeable to Massage Heights that something like this could happen," said Murdock. "But the failure to do that detailed investigation--that tells you a lot right there."
Last year, the State Massage Board received more than 100 complaints against licensees, which they tell me is slightly higher than the year before. They've received nearly 90 complaints so far this year.
The board posts formal disciplinary actions on its website, but complaints that don't result in formal action are kept confidential—in part to protect against false allegations.