Lawrence KilliumIf there’s anywhere that you’re supposed to be able to feel comfortable and relaxed, it’s during a massage done by a professional.
And no, I’m not talking about some back alley place in Bangkok or a seedy tantra massage parlor in Ukraine, I’m talking about a legitimate massage in a legitimate spa.
For this man, the experience of a massage was anything but relaxing.
Cambridge Crown Court heard a case last week where a man accused an allegedly drunken health spa boss of sexual assault after she stumbled in wearing a bikini and oiled his legs, even after repeated requests for her to stop.
The man, who remained unnamed, accused Kerry Brocklebank of pouring oil on his calves before rubbing them, even while he verbally and firmly protested the touch.
The alleged victim had booked a massage with therapist Henry Godfree at Huntingdon Spa and UK Sports Massage, but before the masseur could attend to him, Ms. Brocklebank, 43, barged in uninvited to take over while wearing nothing but a bikini.
And no, this is not the ideal kind of masseuse to barge in wearing a bikini. Life isn’t porn.
The man, who was stripped down to his underwear, said he felt completely “violated.”
The man said she had been acting strangely when he first arrived at the health spa. While waiting in the waiting room decorated for Halloween he claimed she was being strangely chatty.
“She sat opposite me and just started chatting and playing with a witches’ hat bizarrely. She was repeatedly shouting Henry’s name and repeatedly calling him darling,” the victim stated in the courtroom.
“Kerry came into the room and said I’m going to start your massage while Henry’s not in here to which I replied, ‘don’t touch me, I’m here to see Henry’.” said the runner.
She apparently ignored three such requests and proceeded to pour oils onto his calf while insisting she was “qualified.”
“She was rubbing my calf – for probably a second or a couple of seconds maximum. She carried on doing what I described before then rubbing my lower back as well. At this point, I’m still lying face down but I’m kind of twisted a bit to the right because I’m looking back to make a point of saying stop,” he said. “She eventually moved around so that she was sat in front of me on a stool. I asked her to leave and get out. I could smell drink, as far as I’m concerned she was clearly drinking.”
When Mr. Godfree returned, she finally left.
“Henry was in the room obviously quite uncomfortable. He just looked shocked, he genuinely looked a bit confused as to why Kerry was in the room. I felt violated, angry and just not at all happy about the situation at all,” the unnamed man stated.
Mr. Godfree observed this behavior in the waiting room, as well: “It was quite provocative, quite flirtatious. She wasn’t dressed appropriately to be dealing with customers. She was wearing a bikini. She was very drunk.”
He said he only thought to intervene when he heard the alleged victim raising his voice and saying phrases like “don’t touch me” and “get off me.”
“At first he sounded sort of calm and then he sounded particularly panicked, a sort of sense of fear,” Mr. Godfree said. “She was leaned over so her breasts would have been inches from his head. She looked as if I was spoiling her fun.”
When the alleged victim informed Ms. Brocklebank that he would be filing a complaint with the police and informing those in her industry about her behavior, she sent him an email offering a free massage and said: “again apologies, friends’ birthday, I shouldn’t mix business with pleasure.”
When that didn’t work, she allegedly sent more “offensive and threatening electronic messages” including phrases like “Sorry did I interrupt gay time?” and “Believe me if this goes to court I will ruin the pair of you.”
What a predator. She better serve time for this.
