Former Glenroy massage therapist Joseph Faralla pleads guilty to sexual assault in County Court
A former Glenroy massage therapist who practised as The Massage Doctor has dodged a criminal trial over sexual assault charges thanks an eleventh hour plea change.
North West
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A Glenroy massage therapist who repeatedly sexually assaulted a woman has avoided a criminal trial after changing his plea as a jury was being empaneled.
Joseph Faralla, 60, pleaded guilty in the County Court on May 14, to two counts of sexual assault.
Faralla — who previously practised as The Massage Doctor — sexually assaulted a woman in Ferntree Gully on March 24 in 2023.
The court heard he touched the woman on her breasts once and touched her vagina three times without her consent.
The case resolved to a guilty plea on Tuesday after it was initially booked in for a seven day criminal trial.
The plea change came as the jury was being empanelled.
Faralla will return to the County Court on July 28 for a plea haring.
He was released on bail.
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