A massage therapist in Ipswich has pleaded not guilty to five charges of sexual assault relating to two clients. The judge hearing the case has reserved her decision after hearing from the alleged victims.
On Tuesday March 1st Matthieu Bale, 42, faced Ipswich District Court in Queensland accused of assaulting two of his clients. Bale pleaded not guilty to three counts of assaulting a 19 year old man, and two counts of assaulting a 41 year old man.
Both men has visited Bale’s business Body Entire Massage Therapy in November 2020 and reported being sexually assaulted while receiving treatment. Crown Prosecutor barrister Adrian Braithwaite told the court the issue was not whether the incidents occurred, rather if consent had been given.
The court proceedings were reported by the Courier Mail.
The court head that the 19 year old man had previously visited the business and no offending was alleged during his first visit, but when he booked a second appointment on 25th November 2020 he experienced a different approach from the masseur.
“During the course of the massage, it’s alleged by the complainant that the defendant grabbed his penis with his hand,” Braithwaite said.
“The complainant estimated this occurred about five or six times.
“During the course of that same massage, when the complainant was lying on his stomach, the defendant was massaging the tops of his thighs and repeatedly touched the complainant around the outside of his anus with his finger.”
Later them young man was rolled on to his back again and it is alleged the masseur then grabbed the clients penis and masturbated him. The court heard the young man asked Bale to stop, but he persisted.
The young man later confronted Bale in the carpark outside his business and later on the same day reported the alleged assault to police.
A second man told police that he had visited the business after suffering back pain related to a spinal injury. He alleged that during the massage Bale began pressing on his groin area, the man said he froze up and was ashamed. He claims that Bale then grabbed penis and began masturbating him despite his pleas for the masseur to stop.
During a police interview Bale said that he did not have “the slightest inkling” that the 19 year old man was uncomfortable with the acts performed during the massage, and that he only became aware of his concerns afterwards in the carpark outside.
Bale admitted that he had masturbated both men but told police that he had checked that they were “Ok” with what was occurring. The 42 year old massage therapist told police that he asked around 40% of his clients to be fully naked during procedures and in his experience 70% of male clients become aroused during massages.
The accused man shared with police that he had engaged with sexual acts with about six of his clients in the last five years, and said he had picked up on a “vibe” with both of the complainants.
Judge Deborah Richards reserved her decision on whether Matthieu Bale was guilty of the alleged sexual assaults of the two men. No date has been set for the matter to return to court.
OIP Staff
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