Woman accuses massage therapist at suburban Chicago spa of sexual assault in lawsuit
NORTHBROOK, Ill. (CBS) – A woman filed a lawsuit against a massage therapist and a spa in suburban Northbrook, alleging she was sexually assaulted during a massage.
She's named Jane Doe in the lawsuit, so CBS 2 will not identify her. She said what she endured could have been prevented and accused the spa of failing to conduct a background check. They should have known that he was charged with sexual assault at a spa in Wisconsin, and he wasn't licensed to be a massage therapist in the State of Illinois.
"It's been the worst thing that I've ever had to go through," the woman said.
She said on Aug. 4, 2023, Zhichen Wang sexually assaulted her. The lawsuit alleged he was her massage therapist at The Spa at Northbrook.
Wang previously worked as a massage therapist at a mall in Janesville, Wisconsin, and was charged with sexual assault. He was told he could no longer be a massage therapist and had to surrender his passport.
In December of 2023, Wang didn't show up for court. An arrest warrant was issued. The Spa at Northbrook later hired him as a massage therapist.
Michael W. Kopsick represents the woman.
"If they did any type of diligence, any type of even cursory search, they would have known that he was a criminal and a sexual predator," Kopsick said.
An investigation by Northbrook police revealed Wang used a Chinese passport to fly to Taiwan shortly after the woman reported her sexual assault to police.
"I just think it's not fair," said the woman. "I mean, it's not. It's not fair that this happened to me. It's not fair that he gets to live his life in a different country and I'm here dealing with the ramifications of this. I didn't ask for this to happen to me."
She added that the spa's hiring of Wang was "grossly irresponsible. You should do background checks on everyone that works for you, no matter what service industry."
Authorities have not answered CBS 2's questions about why Wang's passport was not taken when he was in Wisconsin.
The Spa at Northbrook was closed after the report of the alleged sexual assault and for licensing failure. CBS 2 asked The Spa's Highland Park location for comment but did not receive a response.
