Tri-Cities massage therapist accused of indecent liberties. His patient called police - AOL

[Annette Cary]

Annette Cary

November 2, 2024 at 6:00 AM

Tri-Cities massage therapist accused of indecent liberties. His patient called police​

The Washington state Department of Health licenses and credentials health care practitioners.

Dreamstime/TNS


A Richland massage therapist faces a criminal charge in Benton County Superior Court and a charge by the Washington state Department of Health after accusations of sexually touching a client.

In addition, the Department of Health has cases or orders filed against various health professionals in Benton and Franklin counties in recent months due to theft accusations, allegedly practicing without licenses and an animal abuse conviction.

A patient of Joseph Taylor Moraniec, a massage therapist, told police on Nov. 6, 2023, that he had sexually touched her and not followed procedures to keep her body appropriately draped with a sheet during a massage at Elements Therapeutic Massage in Richland.

She also reported Moraniec to the state Department of Health.

She said that after a massage, Moraniec had said “Sorry for getting my wires crossed,” which she took as an apology for turning a massage into a sex act, according to a court document.

When police obtained records from his previous employer in Seattle, they found complaints that resulted in him being fired in December 2022. One client allegedly was touched sexually and the other allegedly was not kept appropriately covered during the massage, according to a court document.

Moraniec faces a felony charge of health care provider indecent liberties in Benton County Superior Court.

The Department of Health has charged him with unprofessional conduct and given him a chance to respond. His license to work as a massage therapist in Washington state, which was issued in 2016, expired in July.

More from WA Department of Health​

In other Department of Health actions:

▪ Bradley Leroy Akridge has been ordered by the Washington state Department of Health to stop his alleged unlicensed practice of chiropractic care in Benton County, according to state records.

Akridge’s license, originally issued in 1983, was suspended in June 2009.

His troubles started in 1993 with convictions of felony possession of cocaine in Benton County Superior Court, according to the Department of Health

In May 2005 he was convicted of theft in the third degree, a gross misdemeanor, and in 2007 he was convicted of driving under the influence in Benton County, a gross misdemeanor.

He had a practice in Connell in 2003 but said his records had been destroyed when the Department of Health requested them less than five years later in 2007, according to the agency. Washington state law requires the retention of records.

His license was indefinitely suspended in 2009, unless he completed conditions he agreed to with the Department of Health.

They included undergoing a chemical dependency evaluation and passing a National Board of Chiropractic Examiners ethics and boundaries exam.

▪ Tiffani Michelle Nelson has been ordered to stop alleged unlicensed practice of massage therapy in Franklin County.

From November 2022 to March 2023 she charged clients for massage therapy services despite not having a massage therapy credential, according to the Washington state Department of Health.

▪ Tyler Waite, a former registered nurse in Benton County, has agreed to a license suspension in Washington.

In 2023 Waite was convicted of first-degree animal abuse in Oregon’s Washington County Circuit Court. According to the Washington state Department of Health, he killed a dog.

Waite’s Washington license expired before the suspension. If he wants to petition for a reinstatement, he must undergo a mental health evaluation.

▪ Tuesdae Arizona Hunter has had her credential as a registered nursing assistant indefinitely suspended by the Department of Health.

A fellow staff member said she saw her take food and household items from Creekstone Senior Living during July 2023, and the owner of the center said that household supplies had been disappearing without explanation in recent months, according to Department of Health allegations.

▪ Kayla Lynn Benson, a registered nursing assistant in Benton County, also has been charged with unprofessional conduct by the Department of Health and has had her credential suspended.

She was fired from Creekstone Senior Living in Kennewick in July 2023 after another staff member allegedly saw her multiple times removing food and household supplies that were meant for the home’s residents, according to the Department of Health.

▪ The certified nursing assistant license of Aylin Guadalupe Aispuro Moreno of Benton County has been suspended pending further legal action.

In May 2023 she was placed on the Washington state Department of Social and Health Services long-term care abuse and neglect registry after financially exploiting a client, according to the Department of Health. She may not be employed caring for vulnerable adults or have unsupervised access to them.

A client of Addus Home Care in Kennewick who was physically unable to care for herself gave Moreno her credit card to purchase the medications the client needed, according to the Department of Health.

Moreno is accused of using the credit card to purchase food for herself in July 2021.

From March to October 2022 Moreno charged $762 to the client’s credit card for her personal use, according to Department of Health allegations.