Victims of perverted massage therapist Mark Anthony Gray urge SA court to jail him and ban him from the industry forever
Victims of a massage therapist who filmed them at their most vulnerable and pursued a teenager for sex have told of the devastating, lasting damage he has wrought.
Police & Courts
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A perverted massage therapist who betrayed his clients’ trust by secretly filming them, and who pursued girls online for sex, should be forever banned from his industry, his victims say.
The District Court was on Friday asked to impose “the longest possible sentence” upon Mark Anthony Gray for having violated 30 women “not only physically but mentally”.
Gray, who appeared in court by video link, wept and clutched at a handkerchief as his victims’ impact statements were read aloud in court.
The women said they had been left feeling sickened, scared and betrayed by his crimes, with many now afflicted by paranoia and fears they were always being watched or filmed.
They said they could no longer trust other medical professionals, meaning their pre-existing injuries remained untreated and their physical pain was ongoing.
“I would never have agreed to Mark touching my body had I known he had other, sinister motives, now that I know he’s such a perverted man,” one said.
Another said she still did not know “who he has shared footage of me with or if it has been shared online”, while another said she was “haunted by shame”.
“I request he is not able to practice massage, not with children or adults, ever again … he does not deserve the chance to hurt others again,” she said.
“Mark was meant to help, to heal, but he has left me damaged in ways I’ve never been before.”
Gray, 56, of Wynn Vale, pleaded guilty to multiple basic and aggravated counts of producing, possessing and disseminating child exploitation material.
He also admitted he acted as a host or administrator of a website used to distribute child exploitation material, via the Kik app, between November 2018 and May 2020.
He further pleaded guilty to communicating with a child for a prurient purpose, and to 30 counts of having indecently filmed his patients.
Gray faces a maximum 12-year term for his crimes, but was among the last offenders to earn an up to 40 per cent sentencing discount prior to legislative change.
His crimes are similar to those of chiropractor Peter Wayne Snodgrass, who is serving a 10-year prison term for secretly filming 216 female patients.
Snodgrass is now facing an additional 12 years’ jail, having pleaded guilty to both aggravated and basic counts of possessing child exploitation material.
On Thursday, prosecutor Taryn Amos said she would seek to have Gray declared a serious repeat offender – leaving him liable to a harsher-than-normal non-parole period.
Counsel for Gray asked for time to finalise a psychological report that, they said, would be highly relevant to sentencing.
Judge Ian Press remanded Gray in custody for further submissions in two weeks.
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