A man has gone on trial in Dublin accused of sexually assaulting a female client during a massage therapy session.
The 48-year-old, who cannot be named for legal reasons, has pleaded not guilty at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court to the charge which is said to have happened at his practice on January 24th, 2015.
It is alleged that the accused removed the woman’s underwear and touched her vagina, before kissing her bare bottom and saying he “just couldn’t help himself”.
The woman took the stand and told the jury she first visited the accused’s practice in January 2015 with a sports-related injury to her neck and shoulder.
“I thought he was a physiotherapist,” she told the court.
She said she attended the practice four or five times and that for most of the sessions she had removed her top and bra and lay face down for treatment, while covered with a towel.
‘Nothing inappropriate’
During one session, the woman said the accused finished working on her shoulder and started massaging her leg, where she had an old knee injury. She said he helped her remove her trousers so he could look at her knee.
“Nothing inappropriate happened,” she said.
On the day of the alleged offence, she visited the clinic for an appointment and removed her top and bra while lying face down on the massage bed and then her trousers.
She said the accused was massaging her lower back when he tapped her lightly. The woman said she thought he wanted to lower her underpants slightly to massage her lower back, so she lifted her hips. She said he then took her underwear off. “I knew it wasn’t right and I knew it was strange,” the woman said.
She said she didn’t immediately say anything as she was “trying to figure out what was going on. I knew it wasn’t right”.
The woman said the accused then started massaging her entire leg, before he touched her vagina. She said he then placed his other hand on her shoulder and massaged it at the same time.
“That’s when I knew this isn’t normal. This doesn’t happen when you go to see a physio,” said the woman.
‘I was shocked’
She told the man, “I don’t like that”. And he removed his hand “straight away”.
“I was shocked,” said the woman. “I thought he might say ‘sorry’ or ‘I didn’t mean to do that’, but he didn’t say anything.”
The woman said the accused man started to put her underwear back on.
“Then I remember him kissing my bottom and saying he just couldn’t help himself,” she said.
She said that as she got dressed, the accused said to her: “Women can be so cruel.”
The woman said she was petrified and wanted to get home but before she left, the man said: “I haven’t upset you, have I?”
“I said, ‘yes’,” the woman said. “Then he gave me a hug and, like an idiot, I gave him a hug back. And then I paid him.”
The trial continues.