Former Richland massage therapist jailed for inappropriately touching client

A massage therapist who sexually assaulted a client at a Richland business is heading to jail for six months.

Joseph Moraniec, 39, pleaded guilty to indecent liberties in connection with touching a client inappropriately during a November 2023 session at the Richland clinic he worked at.

While his attorney, Randall Jameson, argued that his client had already lost his profession and nearly lost his marriage. In addition, he had stayed out of trouble in the two years since the crime happened.

Jameson said 12 months of supervision would be enough to ensure community safety. If he was sent to jail, he asked for work release. He’s been working at McDonald’s in Western Washington.

“I understand that sorry does not meet the moment,” Moraniec said. “For whatever it’s worth, I am truly, truly sorry for what I’ve done. I’m not contesting the fact that I failed the test of trust that one is given.”

The crime carried a sentence of up to a year in jail, according to court documents. Prosecutors asked for a nine month sentence.

The woman Moraniec assaulted and her husband told the judge that the crime had damaged their trust in massage therapy. They believed that Moraniec targeted other women.

“He should be sentenced appropriately and to the full extent of the law,” the woman said. “He deliberately crossed professional boundaries.”

Judge Jackie Stam said last week that Moraniec bore the responsibility for acting unprofessionally as she sentenced him to six months. She also denied his request for work release.

“You bear the responsibility. You are the professional,” she said, adding that his behavior was “wholly inappropriate and criminal.”

Sexual assault

Moraniec worked at a Richland massage business after being fired from a Western Washington business in 2022. He’d gotten his massage therapist license from the state in 2016.

He had been fired from the Western Washington business after a client’s husband complained that Moraniec had touched his wife inappropriately.

At the time, two other women had complained about him. In one instance, he exposed a woman during a session, and in the other, he seemed to be “drawing circles” with his finger rather than massaging.

Then in November 2023, a woman went to her appointment with Moraniec at the Richland massage business where he worked.

She was in middle of the massage when he began touching her inappropriately, court documents said. Initially she froze in shock. When he pulled back a sheet, she shouted, “Ugh, no!” court documents said.

After that, Moraniec left and let the woman get dressed. When he returned, he apologized for “getting my wires crossed.”

The state Department of Health suspended Moraniec’s license for four years.