Abuse, assault charges against Sisters spa owner dropped; he now plans legal action

DA says there was insufficient evidence to prove inappropriate touching

SISTERS, Ore. (KTVZ) -- Michael Boyle is the owner of Hop in the Spa in downtown Sisters, which offers a bath full of beer, for relaxation and medicinal purposes. Boyle was arrested in late June on allegations of sexual abuse, harassment and providing massages without a license, but no formal charges were filed.

The Deschutes County District Attorney's Office investigated the claims and said Tuesday they did not find sufficient evidence of sexual assault or harassment to bring charges.

District Attorney John Hummel says there is a "gray area" of what is considered appropriate or inappropriate touching during a consensual massage.

He says in this case, the investigation showed that the touching was appropriate, although it may have been "too close for comfort" for the alleged victim.

While the sexual abuse and harassment charges were dropped, Hummel said they did find that Boyle did not have a massage therapy license and have reported that to the Oregon State Board of Massage Therapy for it to investigate.

Boyle told NewsChannel 21 Tuesday he doesn't give massages at his business and did nothing wrong. He also doesn't know who his accuser is.

"I'm blatantly saying, I don't know who this person is. I don't know anything about it. I mean, I can have my friend walk in the door and give them a massage, and I don't have to be licensed." Boyle said. "So all I'm saying is, I don't know who the person is here, but first of all -- I wouldn't make any claim on what we did for that person."

Boyle added, "You know, you can look at my website, you can look at our building, you can look at my invoices, you can look at everything -- there's no massage."

Hummel says the victim did not fabricate the story or have bad intentions, and that he's glad the person came forward.

Boyle says the allegations have hurt him and his family's reputation.

"I'm (judged as) guilty, by everybody in this town. For me, it's my children's reputation, and how do I get that back? The probably best way to get that back is to try to get some accountability, and that will run on a monthly basis until that's solved."

Boyle says he does not know who reported him, but he and his lawyers are going to take legal action.