B.C. massage therapist banned from practicing until 2048 over sexual misconduct, college says

FILE: A massage table is seen in this undated photo. (Shutterstock)

A former B.C. massage therapist has been banned from practicing for 25 years and ordered to pay nearly $106,000 after his professional college found he engaged in sexual misconduct with multiple clients over the course of a decade.

The penalties against Leonard Krekic stemmed from nine misconduct investigations dating back to 2009, according to a decision posted by the College of Massage Therapists of British Columbia last week.

Seven of the investigations involved sexual misconduct allegations from female clients, while the other two concerned breaches of restrictions Krekic faced while the college was looking into accusations against him.

The college’s decision described Krekic’s case as “one of the most serious” ever heard by its discipline committee, noting the “duration and frequency” of his behaviour.

“Sexual misconduct is a particularly serious form of misconduct because it involves a breach of trust and abuse of patients,” it reads.

“Sexual touching of patients will not be tolerated, and where this occurs, registrants of CMTBC will be met with the most serious penalties available.”

The college also condemned other misconduct by Krekic, including “engaging in a close personal relationship with a patient for personal and financial gain,” and “practising massage therapy without professional liability insurance.”

A CMTBC discipline committee panel found the allegations against Krekic were proven “to the requisite standard” in a 185-page decision released in August, which called for submissions on the appropriate penalty and costs by the end of September.

As of Dec. 21, the former massage therapist has been banned from re-applying for his registration with the college until Jan. 1, 2048.

Should he decide to apply for reinstatement when the ban expires, the panel noted that the college “ultimately has the power to determine whether or not to grant reinstatement, and if it does so, to determine whether he must fulfil any other requirements and conditions at that time.”

Krekic has also been ordered to pay $95,952. 51 in costs and disbursements to the CMTBC, in addition to a $10,000 fine.