A massage therapist has been jailed for more than six years for raping and sexually assaulting a woman who went to him for a back massage.
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Mehrshad Moharaminia, 40, was working at a Chinese remedial massage centre in Melbourne when his 21-year-old victim went for a massage in March 2019.
The Chinese national, who spoke little English, booked in for a back massage but Moharaminia told her to take her clothes off once they went to the private room.
For the first 25 minutes, the woman said she felt comfortable with the massage which included Moharaminia touching her from her legs to her shoulders while she laid face down on the bed.
She began to feel uneasy when he pulled down her underwear and massaged her buttocks, before telling her to turn onto her back.
He started stretching her legs out which caused her underwear to come off and Moharaminia then touched the area around her vagina.
The woman said she felt strange but chose to believe there was a therapeutic purpose and he was massaging pressure points.
But the sexual assault continued, with Moharaminia massaging the area between her vagina and anus, before digitally raping her and cupping her breast with his other hand.
He stopped and apologised when she yelled out at him and the massage ended shortly after.
The woman told her friend what happened and she made a formal report to police not long after the rape.
Moharaminia denied sexually assaulting the woman when he was arrested and questioned by police later that day.
He took the case to trial but a Victorian County Court jury in August found him guilty of one charge of rape and three counts of sexual assault.
Judge Rosemary Carlin described the attack as reprehensible, noting the victim had been a vulnerable young woman who placed her trust in Moharaminia.
"There was no reason for your actions other than to receive sexual gratification," the judge said in her sentencing remarks on Thursday.
"You knowingly exploited the trust (the victim) placed in you to satisfy your own desires.
"This was selfish, entitled behaviour."
Judge Carlin accepted the incident was a one-off and Moharaminia had continued to work as a massage therapist after the attack without further offending.
She considered his prospects of rehabilitation to be reasonable to good, but she noted protection of the community and general deterrence was still important.
"Conduct such as yours not only impacts the individual victims, it tends to undermine public trust in the people undertaking those services," Judge Carlin said.
Moharaminia was jailed for six years and two months but he will be eligible for parole after three years and eight months.
He will not be listed on the sex offenders register.
1800 RESPECT (1800 737 732)
National Sexual Abuse and Redress Support Service 1800 211 028
Australian Associated Press
