In a professional discipline proceeding, the registrant admitted misconduct arising from assessment of a client's gluteal muscles without prior written informed consent during a massage therapy appointment.
The Tribunal held that the admitted conduct breached consent, sexual abuse prevention, and professional boundaries standards, and constituted professional misconduct under s. 51(1)(c) of the Health Professions Procedural Code and s. 26 of Ontario Regulation 544/94.
Applying the Anthony-Cook public-interest threshold for joint submissions, the Tribunal accepted the jointly proposed penalty because it was within the range for similar cases and was not contrary to the public interest.
The Tribunal imposed a one-month suspension, a reprimand, remedial terms, and costs of $5,852 payable by installments.