Greene County prosecutor charges massage therapist with sex crime

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. (KY3) - The Greene County prosecutor filed a charge of second-degree sodomy against a massage therapist, accusing him of inappropriate touching.

Seth Galyon, 33, of Springfield, worked at Grove Pharmacy’s spa on East Sunshine. Investigators say Galyon was fired from the job at the spa before they began investigating the incident.

The incident happened in June of 2020. Investigators say a man told police Galyon mentioned to him he was a homosexual before starting the massage. During the massage, Galyon touched the man in an inappropriate place. The victim told investigators he “froze.” The victim then said “this can’t happen, please stop.” Investigators say Galyon told the victim he was only following his lead.

Investigators say Galyon was charged for a separate sodomy case in 2019. Prosecutors later dropped the charges.

“Unfortunately the victim passed away just prior to that [hearing] date, so we were not able to proceed with that case,” First Assistant Prosecuting Attorney Nathan Chapman said.

Prosecutors say two others have accused him of sexually abusing them, but no charges have been filed in either of those cases.

“Previous charges were reviewed and declined due to a lack of evidence so at this time we’re just proceeding on the current one,” Chapman said.

Advocates at the Victim Center in Springfield say it is often less common for men to come forward after incidents like these.

”There absolutely is a stigma around sexual violence and a male victim of sexual violence,” Alisa Garbisch with the Victim Center said.

Garbisch said both men and women can be the perpetrators.

”The culture we live in has always supported this notion that men are not victims,”she said.

Garbisch said one in six men experience a sexual assault throughout their lifetime, either during childhood or adulthood.

She also said sexual abuse incidents can be extremely traumatizing regardless of gender.

”What they are noticing are the things like depression, anxiety, flashbacks or trigger moments and relationships can be hard too,” she said.

Garbisch said society needs to help create those safe spaces and opportunities where men feel comfortable enough to come forward about experiences like these, that way they can get the help they need. She also said parents should have those conversations with their children at an early age, both boys and girls.

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