Massage therapist who secretly filmed clients undressing loses licence to work in B.C.

A former registered massage therapist convicted of secretly filming patients as they undressed has lost his licence to practice in British Columbia for more than two decades.

Officials started investigating Gilles-Philippe Lavoie, then 48, after he used his phone to film a client removing her clothing at the beginning of a massage appointment in August 2020.

"Specifically, he positioned his mobile phone in a place in the treatment room such that its camera was facing toward the area that he anticipated the Patient would disrobe, turned the mobile phone record function on, and exited the treatment room," read a resolution notice from the College of Massage Therapists of B.C.

The patient later filed a complaint with police and the college.

Police later criminally charged Lavoie, who also used the first name Phil, for secretly filming four women — including the patient who complained as well as a second client.

He pleaded guilty in June 2021. Later that year, he was handed a six-months conditional sentence and 18 months' probation. 

Last month, Lavoie agreed to cancel his therapist's licence and cannot reapply for 25 years. If he does reapply, he'll have to prove good character and that he wouldn't pose a risk to the public if he went back into the field.

"The Inquiry Committee considered Mr. Lavoie's admitted conduct to be extremely serious," read the college's notice.

Lavoie had been a massage therapist for more than 15 years.