Jenny Mollen Says She Was Assaulted While Getting a Massage in 2020: 'I Trusted Him' - PEOPLE

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Jenny Mollen says she was assaulted during a massage appointment.


In an essay on Substack titled "Tell Me a Time You Were Molested," the 43-year-old writer and wife of Jason Biggs claimed that she was the victim of a "slow and subtle assault" by a massage therapist during an 80-minute treatment at a spa in New York City back in February 2020.


"I'd been invited to the millennial spa for a comped massage and an adaptogen infused latte with the understanding that I would talk favorably about the experience on social media," Mollen wrote.


After a seemingly "innocuous" start, Mollen said the treatment then took a turn and became inappropriate.


"Despite his initial comments about respecting my space and modesty, the therapist didn't try to avoid my glutes nor did he seem self-conscious about getting too close to my breasts," the mother of two wrote. "He prodded me with fingers that felt as wide as Olive Garden breadsticks and contorted me into various positions, folding me in half like I was some kind of Magician's assistant. I wasn't uncomfortable with his forwardness. If anything, I was relieved that he wasn't holding back and optimistic that he would have the strength to dig this one particularly burdensome knot out of my right trap."


She continued, "His touch, while potentially sensual under other circumstances, felt innocuous. How could it not be?"


Mollen said she soon realized that it was not a typical massage not long after, however.

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"After draping my arms around his shoulders, the therapist tipped me backwards, holding me like one of those damsels in distress on the cover of romance novels," she wrote. "I remember trying to keep my lips sealed so as not to breathe stale espresso into his face when I felt one of his hands move from my stomach to the gap between my breasts. 'Can I touch here?' he half-whispered, sitting me back up and moving his hands over my breasts."


"I trusted him. I had no reason not to," she continued. "Moments later, I was lying back down on the table without my sheet to cover me. The therapist continued stroking and rubbing my chest when suddenly his hand moved to my vagina. What was happening was wrong, but not in a violent obvious way where I would feel justified in calling to my mother. It was a slow and subtle assault that I felt somehow complicit in."


"'Can I touch here?' he might have asked, already starting to masturbate me," Mollen added. "Frozen in shock, I thought I was hallucinating. I struggled to speak when suddenly his lips were on mine and his tongue was in my mouth. I turned my head away and cupped my hand over my face as he moved down my neck and started licking my nipple."


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After the man tried to remove her underwear, Mollen said she spoke up. "'No…uh. I… can't I'm married.' I declined, politely as if my committed relationship was the only thing standing between us. I wanted to extricate but I also didn't want to offend for fear of retribution," she explained.


Mollen said the therapist then "immediately stopped and launched into an apology."

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In the hallway following the treatment, the man and Mollen made small talk, where she said they discovered they were both the parents of two boys.


"'I have to be extra careful to make sure I'm not raising two little rapists,' he sighed with zero irony," Mollen wrote. "'Sorry again about all that.' He said, the way a waiter would if he'd accidentally knocked over your drink."


Later, Mollen detailed that she visited a police station to learn more about pressing charges, which she eventually did not.


"'Why didn't you say, 'no' when he made a move? Why didn't you scream for help? Why didn't you run away?' I asked myself over and over," Mollen added of processing her response to the man's assault.


If you or someone you know has been a victim of sexual abuse, text "STRENGTH" to the Crisis Text Line at 741-741 to be connected to a certified crisis counselor.


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