3rd Eden Prairie Massage Envy client alleges sex assault by same masseur

A third client of a massage therapist is alleging that she was sexually assaulted at a west metro spa.

Mitchell Le Dac Ho, 28, of Eden Prairie, was charged Monday in Hennepin County District Court with third-degree criminal sexual conduct in the incident at the Massage Envy in the Windsor Plaza mall near Flying Cloud Drive on Jan. 1, 2016.

This latest charge marks at least the sixth time that a Massage Envy client has claimed sexual assault in the Twin Cities area in less than five years.

Ho, whose tenure at Massage Envy ended in September, has a court appearance scheduled for April 26. He did not respond to messages seeking comment about the newest charge. His attorney in an earlier case said Tuesday that she was unaware of the latest charge against her client.

The third accuser came forward in early February and told police that Ho touched her genitals and squeezed her breast, according to the criminal complaint.

Another of Ho's clients told police in March 2016 that he assaulted her during a massage, according to the complaint filed in late December 2017.

Ho was still working at the Eden Prairie franchise on Sept. 25, 2017, when he assaulted a girl, according to the complaint. Resolution of the first two cases is pending.

Another therapist, John Earl Young II, now 29, was charged in 2013 with molesting a client at a Minnetonka franchise that June. The next month he was working at a Bloomington store when he sexually assaulted another client. He was convicted in both cases.

In October, Matthew Ryan Perry, 41, of Hopkins, was charged with criminal sexual conduct after a client at the Edina location accused him of touching her genitals during a massage. His case is pending.

Amid what the company called the "heartbreaking stories of sexual assault suffered," Massage Envy executives in December released a six-point plan aimed at protecting clients.

The plan includes annual background checks on therapists, a requirement that the franchise holder provide clients with contact information for law enforcement and independent investigators; and a partnership with sexual violence experts who will work on prevention and review policies and procedures.