A former Franklin massage therapist was ordered to give up his license after pleading guilty to three counts of battery.
Ryan B. Farmer, 25, was sentenced to time served already, meaning he will not need to serve any more time in jail or on probation, according to court records.
Farmer was arrested last year after three women reported he groped and fondled them during massages they received at the CMG Family Wellness Clinic in Franklin. Farmer was fired by the clinic after the second report was made when the owners became aware.
All of the women said they wanted to make sure nothing like this would ever happen again, and that request was met by Farmer forfeiting his license, said Mike Kyle, Farmer’s attorney.
That decision was significant to Farmer, who had gone to school and gotten a degree to work as a massage therapist, and giving up his license was difficult for him, Kyle said.
All three women reported the same story to police, that Farmer had touched their breasts during their massage for anywhere from 10 to 30 minutes, according to police reports. And all three women did not initially report what happened because they were not used to getting massages and unsure if it was inappropriate, but all three called police after talking with others about the incidents.
Farmer was charged with three misdemeanor counts of battery, which was the highest charge he could face because what was reported did not meet what was required under the law for a felony sexual battery charge, prosecutors said at the time.
Farmer pleaded guilty to all three counts, and was sentenced to the time he had already served in jail — one day.
Because Farmer agreed to give up his license, prosecutors were more willing to work with him on his sentence, Kyle said.
Farmer’s license had been suspended for 90 days by the state shortly after he was arrested last year after a vote by the Indiana State Board of Massage Therapy. The attorney general’s office had filed an emergency petition with the state licensing board to suspend Farmer’s license after he was charged in order to protect the health and safety of the public.
