Jury convicts onetime Twin Cities massage therapist in first of 3 sex assault prosecutions

Jurors have convicted a onetime Eden Prairie massage therapist in the first of three cases of sexually assaulting clients that have been filed against him.

John Vue, 28, of Minneapolis, was found guilty Monday in Hennepin County District Court of criminal sexual conduct in connection with him being accused of touching a woman’s breasts and between her legs on May 14, 2024, while working at the now-shuttered Tigercave Massage and Foot Spa on Middleset Road in the heart of the city’s sprawling retail district.

Vue remains free on bail ahead of sentencing, which is scheduled for Dec. 15.

According to the other charges against Vue, which carry charges of fourth-degree criminal sexual conduct:

A woman contacted police and said she arrived about 6 p.m. May 16 for what was to be her sixth massage with Vue. He pulled the sheet from her buttocks and digitally penetrated her multiple times. He then groped her exposed breasts and forced her to have digital intercourse.

A few hours earlier, when a husband and wife came in for a couple’s appointment, Vue massaged the woman’s breasts without permission for five to seven minutes.

Vue was a licensed massage therapist at the time of the alleged assaults.

Dru Alexander Barrow, 28, of Coon Rapids was sentenced in March to four days in the workhouse after pleading guilty to felony fourth-degree criminal sexual conduct in connection with an assault on March 7, 2024.

Barrow remains charged in two other cases with the same count in connection with similar allegations on separate dates in February 2024. He’s due in court on Jan. 12 for hearings in both cases.