A Texas woman has filed a lawsuit against Equinox after allegedly being sexually assaulted by a massage therapist at one of the luxury health club’s New York City locations, saying she was so thoroughly spooked by the masseur’s behavior that she quit her “dream job” at the United Nations and left town.
In a state lawsuit filed Wednesday and obtained by The Independent, the woman accuses Sean Layne of groping her during a bodywork session in October 2023.
The accuser, who is named in the complaint but whose identity The Independent is withholding for her privacy, says the attack occurred at an Equinox on Bond Street in Lower Manhattan.
Moses Ahn, the woman’s attorney, did not respond to requests for comment on Thursday. Messages to Equinox seeking comment went unreturned. Layne, who is not formally named as a defendant in the suit but is identified throughout as the perpetrator, briefly acknowledged a request for comment via text but subsequently went dark.
The complaint does not contain details of the assault itself, but calls Layne out for his alleged actions in the aftermath. Shortly after the woman left the gym, where memberships run from $2,400 to $40,000 a year, Layne dug up her contact info and texted her in an apparent attempt at damage control, the complaint says.
“I’m sorry for reaching out like this, but honestly I am desperate,” the alleged message began, according to a screenshot included in the complaint. “I do understand that that was an extremely foolish thing that I just did. I am very sorry, I over stepped [sic] my boundaries, and put you in a position that I never should have. But I again, I am desperate. You have my life in your hands right now.”
The accuser says that Layne acknowledged that if he were her husband, he “would be furious.” But, the complaint continues, he pleaded for her to “find it in [your] heart to forgive this horrible mistake I just made.”
“I REALLY need this job,” Layne wrote, according to the complaint. “… I WILL lose my job over this, and my license, and livelihood… and I would deserve it. But I desperately need this job right now. So again. I am extremely sorry for making a fool out of myself. Please forgive me. Again. I also apologize for reaching out so directly, but I am desperate. You hold my future in your hands. I am so extremely sorry.”
About two weeks later, the accuser received an email from Layne’s partner of four years, who said she was then pregnant with his child, the complaint states. (An online baby registry from the period in question appears to confirm the pregnancy.) Although the specifics of the email are not disclosed in the complaint, it says the accuser now understood that Layne and his partner had her personal information, “presumably including her home and work addresses.” This, the complaint goes on, “created a great deal of concern for [the accuser] that her safety was in jeopardy.”
“Indeed, soon thereafter, [she] resigned from her dream job at the United Nations and moved away from New York City,” the complaint states.
Equinox knew that it had an issue with members being sexually harrassed and assaulted by massage therapists at its clubs, according to the complaint, which says the chain “had a long history of ‘ignor[ing] lewd behavior, and even sexual assaults.’” It cites a 2018 article in the New York Post, headlined, “Lawyer accused of masturbating in gym while staring at employee,” and a 2024 article that ran in Vermont’s Bennington Banner, which was headlined, “Equinox masseuse charged in second incident with different victim.”
The chain should have been aware that Layne had previously “exhibited behavior demonstrating that he was unfit to act in a position wherein he would be in contact with patrons,” and that he “posed a substantial risk of harm,” the complaint states. Still, it continues, Equinox “hired and retained… Layne, in conscious disregard” of that risk. The complaint accuses Equinox of failing to properly vet Layne before hiring him, and of failing to properly supervise him once he was there. Further, the complaint contends, Equinox failed to discipline or terminate Layne after being notified of his “history of similar acts or propensities.”
“Sexual misconduct is a generally foreseeable consequence of the nature of the work involved in the massage industry and Equinox was at all times relevant, well aware of this risk,” the complaint states.
It is unclear if Layne remains on the Equinox payroll.
As a result of the alleged sex assault, the complaint says Layne’s accuser has experienced “severe mental anguish, emotional distress and trauma,” and required medical care following the alleged attack.
“[U]pon information and belief, she will be required to have medical treatment in the future and said injuries may be of a permanent nature,” the complaint states.
The accuser says Equinox was negligent and reckless with respect to Layne, and is demanding unspecified damages.
