Massage Therapist Charged with Indecent Assault

A State College massage therapist is facing multiple charges after allegedly assaulting a woman during a massage.

According to a criminal complaint filed on Thursday, State College Police were notified on Jan. 26 by Penn State University Health Services that a woman had reported that a day earlier she was inappropriately touched by a massage therapist at American Chiropractic Spa Retreat in State College.

The woman reportedly said she had initially gone to the spa to see a chiropractor and it was recommended she try massage. She told police that she had received massages from massage therapist Kevin Gilliam, 56, four or five times in the past and that nothing occurred during those times. She said there previously had been ‘brief grazing of private areas,’ but she thought those were accidental, according to the complaint.

Gilliam was running late and took a phone call during the woman’s massage and told the woman he would make it up to her, police said. The woman told police she assumed that meant he would extend her massage, according to the complaint.

He allegedly inappropriately touched the woman’s genitals over the course of several minutes, which she said was not accidental and ‘clearly intentional,’ according to the complaint.  The woman reportedly told police that she initially froze and began to shake and tear up and told him to stop.

The woman said that Gilliam stopped and asked the woman ‘Did I make up for it?’ She told police she was scared and unsure what to do. She dressed and left, then called a friend to tell her what occurred and reported it to University Health Services the next day, according to the complaint.

Gilliam was charged with felony aggravated indecent assault, misdemeanor indecent assault and physical harassment. He was arraigned before District Judge Carmine Prestia and bail was set at $25,000. A preliminary hearing is scheduled for March 1.