Former Sisters ‘Hop in the Spa’ owner agrees to plea deal in sex abuse, unlicensed massage case

BEND, Ore. (KTVZ) -- A 62-year-old Sisters-area man facing 21 abuse and other charges in connection with massages given at a downtown Sisters spa has entered Alford pleas of guilty to six charges. Court records show he faces a 30-day jail term, 90 days house arrest and several other conditions.

Michael Patrick Boyle, who was indicted in September of 2021, entered the amended pleas Monday in Deschutes County Circuit Court to a felony charge of first-degree attempted sex abuse and five misdemeanor charges: two counts of third-degree sexual abuse and three counts of practicing massage without a license.

An Alford plea is a guilty plea in which the defendant maintains their innocence, but admits that prosecutors' evidence likely would lead to a conviction, if the case went to trial.

Boyle was arrested in June 2021 during a raid on his business, Hop in the Spa, but no formal charges were filed initially. A few weeks later, then-District Attorney John Hummel announced the indictment after a total of 11 alleged victims came forward.

The case was due to go to trial next Feb. 6. Now, a sentencing hearing is scheduled for Jan. 4. Boyle has been ordered to appear in person that day, as prosecutors plan to request he be remanded to jail at sentencing.

In the plea petition Boyle signed last Friday, he acknowledged the maximum punishment for the crimes he entered the pleas to could be nearly 10 years in jail and fines of over $125,000.

Instead, the parties have agreed that he will serve a 30-day jail term, with credit for time served, 90 days house arrest with electronic monitoring, sex offender registration and several sex offender terms, including a ban on accessing online dating or pornography sites. He also agreed to have no contact with the alleged victims and no practice of massage.

Boyle will be allowed to transfer his probation to California, while the judge has agreed to omit the ban on alcohol use or going to premises where alcohol is the chief item of sale, according to the plea petition.

The building that housed the spa was torn down last spring, according to The Nugget newspaper.