FILE PHOTO.

Image Credit: pexels.com

A BC massage therapist who embarked on a lengthy campaign of harassment against a prospective client who left him a bad Google review after he refused to treat her because she didn't have a mask, has been found to have committed professional misconduct.

According to a July 24 BC College of Massage Therapists decision, massage therapist Jeremy Jakobsze then accused the regulator of having a vendetta against him, at one point telling the director they were unfit to do their job.

"I will see to it that you are removed from your position," Jakobsze said in an email to the College director.

The decision says Jakobsze resigned his licence last fall and didn't participate in his disciplinary hearing.

The issue dates back to June 2020 when a woman came to his Maple Ridge business for a massage.

However, the woman didn't have a mask and Jakobsze refused to treat her.

She then left a negative Google review claiming the massage therapist was verbally aggressive to her.

He later emailed the woman and said he'd be charging her $120 for the appointment that did not take place.

She responded and apologized for not bringing a mask but refused to pay.

READ MORE: BC massage therapist blocked from treating women

The matter spiralled from there.

According to the decision, Jakobsze then contacted her own regulatory body and complained about her.

He said the woman "trespassed" by coming into the clinic without a mask and was negligent for "intentionally not bringing" a mask to the appointment. It was the early days of the pandemic and it was difficult, if not impossible, to purchase a mask.

He then accused the woman of "theft" for not paying the $120 bill and "gender-based Harassment" because she "fraudulently references fear of being physically assaulted based on my sex and physical size."

He also said the one-star review was "sexist and fraudulent."

The decision says several days later, Jakobsze contacted the RCMP and wanted to press charges for criminal harassment, public incitement of hatred, and the willful promotion of hatred and mischief. The RCMP refused.

The woman's regulatory body then told him it dismissed his complaint.

He then took her regulator to the Health Professions Review Board arguing that it was choosing to protect its member's "unethical and abusive behaviour."

Jakobsze then contacted her employer.

"I allege that no sane medical practitioner would react this way after a simple, polite conversation regarding her obligation to read intake forms and the need for her to bring/wear a mask to receive treatment," Jakobsze said in an email to the woman's employer.

He then suggested the woman may have "mental health" issues and "be a risk to others."

READ MORE: BC massage therapist gets five-year ban for touching, assaulting patient

Somewhere along the way Jakobsze then began clashing with his own regulator.

"I don't know who touched you when you were 12 or what boy didn't like you in high school, but it is not my fault that someone hurt you previously in life," Jakobsze wrote in an email to a staffer at the massage therapy regulator. "It is absolutely clear that you have a vendetta against me for unjustified or unclarified reasons... You need to stop harassing me and my family to suit your own sexist motives."

When the College replied back saying his message was "simply unacceptable," he didn't apologize and instead told the staffer she needed to be fired.

The regulator then got a lawyer, but his behaviour didn't change, referring to the investigation as a "kangaroo court."

"You can be a criminal if you want. Just ask yourself if it's worth it," he told the lawyer in an email.

He later told the College that he was "subject to abuse of power and hate crimes" from its investigator.

The regulator calls Jakobsze's communications, "highly unprofessional, extremely offensive, and completely baseless."

READ MORE: Former Penticton massage therapist charged with sexual assault

The decision says Jakobsze didn't attend his disciplinary hearing but did submit a "lengthy summary" disputing the woman's complaint to the College.

However, the College pointed out it is not the woman's complaint to them that is the basis for the disciplinary action but his subsequent complaints to her regulator, the RCMP, the Health Professions Review Board, and his correspondence with the College.

Ultimately, the BC College of Massage Therapists ruled that Jakobsze committed professional misconduct.

A penalty and costs will be decided at a later date.

To contact a reporter for this story, email Ben Bulmer or call (250) 309-5230 or email the editor. You can also submit photos, videos or news tips to the newsroom and be entered to win a monthly prize draw.

We welcome your comments and opinions on our stories but play nice. We won't censor or delete comments unless they contain off-topic statements or links, unnecessary vulgarity, false facts, spam or obviously fake profiles. If you have any concerns about what you see in comments, email the editor in the link above. SUBSCRIBE to our awesome newsletter here.

News from © iNFOnews, 2023