Masseur Charged with Rape - Not Guilty Verdict

Case study summary

Our client moved to the UK and opened his own massage retreat. One of his clients accused him of rape. Twelve months later, another client accused him of sexual assault. Our client denied both allegations. Our thorough preparation of the case resulted in Not Guilty verdicts.

Case study

Our client was a Turkish national who moved to the United Kingdom to live with his partner and her two sons. He had worked as a masseur across different hotels in Turkey for many years so decided to open his own massage retreat in the UK. The retreat opened in 2020 and, in 2022, one of his regular clients accused him of rape. Our client was arrested and released on bail. Twelve months later, he was then accused of sexually assaulting a second client and was remanded into custody.

The first complainant stated that, whilst completing a back massage, our client climbed on top of the massage bed whilst she was asleep and raped her. The second complainant said that our client touched her breasts during the massage which made her feel uncomfortable. Both complainants had paid for their massages and signed a client satisfaction form before leaving the premises.

Our client instructed us after his first police interview. He was pleased with our support throughout the police investigation and so, when he was charged with rape and sexual assault, he instructed us to represent him at his Crown Court trial. He maintained a firm denial to both allegations and explained that the client who had accused him of rape had in fact sexually assaulted him. In relation to the sexual assault allegation, our client had completed a standard 'mixed' massage which involved lymphatic drainage. This involves massaging the chest are but he denied touching her breasts. Despite his denial, our client feared the possibility of serving a lengthy prison sentence and then being deported back to Turkey if he was to be found guilty of either offence.

We instructed a trusted and experienced barrister to represent our client at court. During our preparation of the case, we reviewed the medical evidence in relation to the rape allegation. The evidence simply did not support the allegation. There was no evidence of penetration and when cross-examined, the complainant admitted that she could not be sure whether our client raped her.

In relation to the second allegation, we researched what is involved in a lymphatic drainage massage. This showed the jury that it did involve massaging close to more intimate areas of the body but our client was adamant that he would always respect his client's privacy by leaving at least a 3-finger gap.

We obtained statements from our client's partner as well as other clients who had previously received massages from our client. All of our witnesses testified as to our client's good character and his repectful manner when performing massages.

At the conclusion of the defence case, our barrister provided a compelling and persuasive closing speech explaining our client's innocence. Our client was found Not Guilty of all charges and he was extremely relieved to be returning home to his partner. He looked forward to continuing to build his new life in the UK with her and her children.