Allegations of sexual misconduct levelled at father-son Bowen therapists in Ballarat

Five women have spoken to the ABC alleging sexual misconduct during treatment at a father-son massage therapy business in regional Victoria.

The women have accused the two men behind the Ballarat business of inappropriate sexual behaviour, and raised concerns about a lack of oversight and regulation in the massage industry.

One complainant said she was exhausted after making a report to the Health Complaints Commission, and felt disillusioned by a system meant to protect patients.

Her complaint is the only formal complaint made about the business to the commission, which was upheld but then revoked weeks later.

WARNING: This story contains details that readers may find distressing. 

The accused men have denied all allegations, with one claiming the accusations stem from social media where "it's statistically proven 78 per cent of [it] is false and most of it is from females".

Preying on vulnerable clients

Mikayla (not her real name) began treatment with Phillip Lewis in 2018.

"I was only 21, 22, at the time, so I was quite naive to what he was doing for a little while," she said.

Mikayla, whose name has been withheld to protect her privacy, said the sessions got more and more inappropriate, until Mr Lewis asked her to be his girlfriend.

She told him she worked in the mental health industry, and he "thought it was appropriate to tell me he wanted to kill himself while he was massaging me".

"[He said] he needed a woman to 'save him' and asked me would I be that for him," she said.

At the end of the massage, Mikayla turned over onto her back, and instead of covering her with a towel, as is standard practice in massage therapy, she said Mr Lewis stared at her naked breasts.

"I think I just gaslit myself into being like, 'Oh, I'm being too sensitive; maybe he's just socially inept,'" she said.

"At the time I was attending an annual music festival … he asked me: 'Will you be wearing less there than you are on my massage table?'

She made a complaint to the Health Complaints Commissioner (HCC), which she said took 12 months to be resolved.

According to the HCC's website, a 12-week-long interim prohibition order (IPO) was placed on Phillip Lewis on December 9, 2019.

The IPO meant he could not offer or provide any services to women, and that a copy of the order had to be displayed at the business for the duration.

However, the IPO was revoked after about eight weeks.

The HCC said new evidence had been taken into account after Mikayla made her complaint, and found the therapist "no longer posed a risk to the public".

The HCC did not disclose what the new evidence was or why Phillip Lewis was no longer considered a risk.

Mikayla said she was never informed that the order had been revoked.

"It feels like a failure on [the HCC's] part because who else do we go to?" she said.

'Disgusting' behaviour

Katie Van Egmond was treated by Phillip Lewis four times in 2022, after her male partner recommended him.

"The second visit, I went back and he was making a few cheeky comments about what me and my partner do sex-wise," Ms Van Egmond said.

"I thought I'd let that slide because [I] thought it was banter … I then started to get on edge."

Ms Van Egmond suffers from sciatica, a painful condition caused by damage to the sciatic nerve, which runs from the lower back through the hip and down the leg.

She said, in one session, Mr Lewis touched her genitals on four different occasions.

"He said if I was his wife, I would have to strip naked when I got home and he'd take my clothes from me at the front door and would not allow me to have them back until I had to leave the house again," she said.

Ms Van Egmond said Mr Lewis told her how he intended to go to a previous client's workplace and "hopefully be in her bed by the end of the night".

"I haven't had treatment since," she said.

Ms Van Egmond said she sought out the father-son business for its use of Bowen therapy, which claims to relieve chronic and acute pain.

A review by the Australian government health department in 2015 found there was "insufficient evidence … to reach any conclusion regarding the effectiveness, safety, quality or cost-effectiveness of Bowen therapy".

Police involvement

Annie, whose surname has been withheld to protect her privacy, saw Phillip Lewis for one session in July this year. 

She said being alone with the massage therapist in a small room made her feel unsafe.

"The conversation that was taking place while he was touching me was extremely, there's no other word than 'ick'," Annie said. 

She alleged that at the end of the session, she did not feel she could leave, and Phillip Lewis adjusted her bra straps and said, "Women often say I have better experience with their bras than their husbands do".

Annie said that during the same session, he told her he lost all his money because of "sexual harassment cases".

"And then he said, 'which is just ridiculous, because as if I'm going to rape a woman in here'," she said.

Annie went to the police, but was told Phillip Lewis's behaviour during her session could not be classed as sexual assault. 

"There was touching of me around my bra, and his hands were physically on me while he made sexual innuendos, and I couldn't move, I couldn't leave," she said.  

"[The police officer] recommended I call Crime Stoppers.

"I didn't … I was depleted, and I was like it's not going to be taken seriously, no-one is listening, no-one cares."

Victoria Police said it was unable to confirm or verify Annie's claim or the advice she was given.

Annie also called the HCC to make a report, but was referred to the Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency (AHPRA).

AHPRA then referred her back again to the HCC, but by that point, Annie gave up. 

"The lack of support is ruining my soul," she said.

"I thought, imagine if I'd actually been raped, only then would police go, 'Oh, we better do something.'"

Annie has not attempted to go back to the authorities or HCC since.

Aside from Annie and Mikayla, none of the other women who spoke to the ABC went to the HCC or police to file a complaint. 

Digital penetration

Some women who spoke with the ABC allege Phillip Lewis talked "in depth" about sexual intercourse with his ex-partner while massaging them.

Rachael, who also requested anonymity, has alleged misconduct by Phillip Lewis's father, Iean Lewis. 

She accused him of digitally penetrating her anus without consent while treating her shoulder in 2017.

"It just happened, there was no warning, I think he was on my lower back doing my hip, then his finger was up my bum," Rachael said.

"I said, 'What is going on here?' and [Iean Lewis] said: 'I'm just doing a coccyx adjustment.'

"I said, 'You should probably let me know or ask me if it's OK to do that,' and he stopped.

"He [also] fell asleep [on me] multiple times during the treatment."

In a statement, an HCC spokesperson told the ABC that any allegation of a breach of their code of conduct "is taken very seriously".

The spokesperson said the HCC encouraged anyone who had concerns about the health service to make a complaint.

Less oversight regionally

Melbourne University sexual harassment policy researcher Marina Gertsberg said reporting sexual misconduct in the health industry was difficult.

"These issues seem to occur more in regional or rural areas where you have even less oversight," Dr Gertsberg said. 

"A self-employed service provider who doesn't require any professional certification or registration with a professional board … seems to be a blind spot or regulatory desert that needs to be addressed."

She said, in this case, the path to reporting was not clear for women. 

"Another issue is that [HCC] seems to have a very general code of conduct … there was only one item that is actually about sexual misconduct," Dr Gertsberg said. 

"It seems to be difficult for clients to access this information, so if you want to go to a massage therapist, it's not very obvious where you can even look up whether someone has had those kinds of cases before."

Business responds

When the ABC rang Phillip and Iean Lewis's business to put the allegations to them, a receptionist described the women in question as "a bunch of precious princesses".

In an interview with the ABC, Phillip and Iean Lewis denied most allegations, except for the adjusting of bra straps.

"[The allegations] are highly unlikely when over 12,000 people come to us," Phillip Lewis said.

"We've done three-quarters of an hour of work on you to straighten your body; you have a bra strap twisted, it's going to affect your nerves."

"You don't like your straps twisted do you?" Iean then asked this reporter, calling the complainants "limelighters".

Phillip Lewis acknowledged the prior HCC complaint against him, but denied the allegations. 

"Everything was revoked — everything she claimed, we beat it and we won," he said.

The pair vehemently denied the touching of genitals and digital penetration and said they asked for consent throughout the session.

"When we realign the coccyx, we leave the underwear high up, and we have to put the finger down to the bottom of the coccyx, and all the way through it, we are saying, 'Are you still feeling comfortable?'" Phillip Lewis said.

"We're working over the underwear, not skin-to-skin.

"That is not sticking a finger up a person's anus.

"Once they get a story, they keep it going because they've got to, otherwise they'll be classed as a liar."

While the pair denied any sexual conversations, they said they often treated infertile clients and encouraged them to think about their fantasies.

"Anything to do with sexual stuff — no, I keep away from it," Phillip Lewis said.

"The only thing I would say is with infertility, think about creating fantasies in your system because it makes you relaxed."