Kelowna massage therapist banned from treating women while under investigation

A Kelowna massage therapist has been banned from seeing female patients while he is under investigation for sexual misconduct.

Adam Lariviere had additional limits placed on his practice on Dec. 4, according to the inquiry committee of the B.C. College of Massage Therapists. A notice informing anyone who seeks treatment from him about the ban on treating women must also be posted in all of Lariviere's workplaces.

"The inquiry committee panel considered the allegations serious and found that there are some factors that render the alleged conduct likely to recur. Therefore, the panel determined that the public must be protected by an interim order during the investigation and pending any discipline hearing," a notice on the college's website says.

The order from the college comes after a second complaint by one of Lariviere's female patients.

On Oct. 12, the college posted a notice saying Lariviere had been ordered to provide the inquiry committee with access to his calendar and information about clients he treated on a weekly basis. He was also required to submit to random on-site audits.

Those conditions were imposed because the college was investigating a complaint from a female patient alleging that Lariviere had "failed to maintain professional boundaries and engaged in inappropriate conduct," the notice from the BC CMT says.

On Oct. 17, a female patient submitted a complaint alleging that Lariviere "failed to maintain professional boundaries and consent standards and engaged in sexual misconduct," the notice form the college says.

The allegations have not been proven but the conditions will remain in place while the investigation is ongoing.