A customer named Laura Revercomb claims she was the victim of sexual assault during a massage at high-end Aire Ancient Baths back in 2014, The Cut reported.
Revercomb, who filed a lawsuit against the upscale Tribeca spa in 2016, spoke publicly about the incident for the first time in the Cut feature by Jessica Testa ahead of an impending November trial date.
Revercomb has alleged that the massage therapist touched her inappropriately during a 2014 visit to the spa, rubbing her breasts and touching her labia and vagina. Revercomb reported the massage therapist to Aire’s manager before leaving the spa, and the next day received an apologetic email telling her the therapist had been fired immediately.
After attempting to file a formal complaint with the state, however, Revercomb was told by an attorney for the spa that an internal investigation into the incident had found no wrongdoing on the massage therapist’s part.
Revercomb then reported the incident to the police, who arrested Egemen Seker, the Aire employee who allegedly assaulted Revercomb. Seker had been practicing massage therapy without a state license and was indicted by a grand jury on charges of third-degree sexual abuse and unauthorized practice of a profession.
In 2015, Seker pleaded guilty to the latter charge only. Frustrated by the refusal to acknowledge her sexual assault, Revercomb sued Aire and Seker for negligence, battery, assault, and causing emotional distress. Citing a number of Yelp reviews complaining of similar incidents of sexual misconduct at the spa, Revercomb claims Aire was aware of the ongoing problem.
“They knew that people were getting hurt, that people were being sexually assaulted or abused, and they also knew that the massage therapists weren’t licensed,” she told The Cut, adding that she filed her lawsuit in part to make the spa “understand what they did to create a dangerous situation.”
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