The Washington state Department of Health has suspended the licenses of former certified nursing assistant and massage therapist Michael P. Frietze following his convictions for second-degree rape and indecent liberties in Lewis County Superior Court.
The Chehalis Police Department opened an investigation into Frietze, 46, of Chehalis, after a victim reported a possible assault at a business in the 2500 block of Northwest Kresky Avenue at 10:52 a.m. on June 23. Between that first report on June 23 and when detectives referred the case to local prosecutors on June 27, a total of six victims came forward to report incidents of sexual abuse by Frietze.
A Lewis County Superior Court judge in October sentenced Frietze to a minimum of about 14 years in prison for sexually assaulting clients between 2021 and 2023.
As part of the guilty plea, three counts of indecent liberties without forcible compulsion, stemming from three separate incidents between June 2022 and June 2023 involving three separate female victims, were dismissed.
The plea also counted as a “global resolution” to the case, and by agreeing to accept the plea, “the state agrees they shall not and will not prosecute the defendant for any crimes committed prior to the date of sentencing that were committed during the course of medical treatment, to include massage/massage therapy, he performed on any victims presently known or unknown,” according to court documents.
In a guilty plea dated Sept. 1, Frietze admitted to sexually assaulting three separate female patients: one on or about June 23, 2023; one on or about April 11, 2023; and one between May and June of 2022.
He pleaded guilty to one count of indecent liberties without forcible compulsion stemming from the June 2023 incident; one count of second-degree rape without forcible compulsion stemming from the April 2023 incident, and one count of second-degree rape without forcible compulsion stemming from the 2022 incident.
As part of his conviction, Frietze will remain on probation for the rest of his life if released and is required to register as a sex offender. Lifetime protection orders were issued for the victims.
