An Iranian trainee masseur has been jailed for at least two years and three months for raping a female client during an appointment at a Sydney wellness centre.
Peyman Yazdi, 54, a married former lawyer who moved to Australian with his family after they were threatened, was found guilty by a jury in June of two counts of sexual touching and one count of sexual intercourse without consent.
He appeared in Downing Centre District Court via video-link from jail on Tuesday and sobbed as Judge Thomas Jones sentenced him to four years’ imprisonment with a non-parole period of two years and three months, making him eligible for parole in September 2027, Australian Associated Press reported.
The court heard the 2022 attack occurred at the City Cave Wellness Centre in Mosman, where Yazdi was training in remedial massage, after his victim turned up with her then-partner.
About 10 minutes into the massage Yazdi asked the woman to take off her underwear, and was then left in shock and not knowing what to do when the masseur sniffed the underwear and started making moaning sounds, news.com.au reported.
The court heard he then made more moaning sounds as he repeatedly sexually touched her without consent, and told police when he was arrested three days later than the attack was a “misunderstanding” and a “miscommunication”.
The woman said in her victim impact statement that assault had on ongoing impact on her relationships, friendships and employment, all of which were “seriously affected”, and the judge commended her for her “courage and fortitude” in providing the statement.
“People are entitled to expect that massage’s treatment will be delivered professionally, and that they will not be the subject of opportunistic sexual assaults,” Judge Jones said during sentencing.
“The offender was motivated by sexual gratification and that he was aware that [the victim] was not consenting to what was occurring.”
Judge Jones found Yazdi had “good” prospects of rehabilitation, but said “having considered all possible alternatives no penalty other than full-time imprisonment is appropriate”.
Header image: City Cave Wellness Centre in Mosman (City Cave).
