Massage therapist’s lawyers deny sex assault allegations, call lawsuit a ‘money grab’

Lawyers for a Fort Worth massage therapist accused of sexually assaulting a female client said Tuesday that the allegations aren’t true and called accuser’s lawsuit against the spa “nothing but a money grab.”

The woman accused therapist Jackie R. Ricks, 32, of assaulting her in June at Milk + Honey Spa at The Shops at Clearfork. She has filed a civil lawsuit that says the spa should be held accountable for hiring someone who had previous criminal charges.

On Tuesday, a day after the Star-Telegram reported on the case, attorneys Christy Jack and Letty Martinez issued a statement on behalf of Ricks.

“The accuser wasted no time filing a civil suit demanding more than one million dollars,” the lawyers said in an emailed statement to the Star-Telegram.

“Our client NEVER sexually assaulted the accuser. Our client fully cooperated with the police throughout the investigation because he has nothing to hide. The accuser, on the other hand, has more than one million reasons to say this contact was without her consent. We welcome the opportunity to cross examine her claim of so-called ‘nonconsensual’ contact.”

The woman’s lawsuit said she visited the spa to celebrate her birthday and told Ricks that she had been experiencing shoulder pain. Instead of massaging her shoulders, Ricks focused on the woman’s lower body and raped her, according to the lawsuit.

The woman and a friend called police. Ricks, of Benbrook, was charged that day with sexual assault. He was indicted by a grand jury on Aug. 1, according to Tarrant County court records. He remains free on bond.

This story was originally published August 30, 2022 at 3:00 PM.