Greensborough massage therapist found guilty of raping client

A Greensborough massage therapist has been found guilty of raping a client after preying on a victim who did not speak English.

Mehrshad ‘Sam’ Moharaminia was found guilty of raping a client.

A Melbourne massage therapist has been found guilty of raping his client.

Mehrshad “Sam” Moharaminia, the former licensed operator of Body & Motion Massage in Greensborough, faced the County Court on Friday after being found guilty of rape and sexual assault.

The court heard the massage by Moharaminia on March 7, 2019 started normally but took a disturbing turn around the 30-minute mark.

Moharaminia removed the woman’s underwear, opened her legs and massaged near her vagina, court documents state.

He then requested the woman roll over and massaged between her buttocks before touching her breasts and digitally raping her.

The court heard his victim did not speak English but made a “direct protestation” for the sexual offending to stop, with the rape ceasing within seconds.

Moharaminia’s lawyer Sam Tovey said the offending occurred “impulsively and to an extent, spontaneously”.

However the prosecution described it as “brazen” and a “serious breach of trust”.

Judge Rosemary Carlin acknowledged the offending had “drastic” impacts on the victim but that it was on the “lower end of seriousness” for the crime.

“I have no reason to think he formulated a plan to do this before the massage but at some point he decided to test the waters and do it until he was stopped,” Judge Carlin said.

The court heard Moharaminia had no relevant prior criminal history, good work history and strong prospects of rehabilitation.

Moharaminia came to Australia in 2011, qualifying as a licensed remedial therapist in Queensland before moving to Melbourne in 2017.

He was previously employed as the manager of the Zen 5 Chinese massage clinic in the CBD.

Last September, the Health Complaints Commissioner issued an interim prohibition order against Moharaminia due to the belief he had “contravened a code of conduct applying to the general health service”.

“It is necessary to make this order to avoid a serious risk to the health, safety or welfare of the public,” the order stated.

The standard sentence for rape is 10 years’ imprisonment.

Moharaminia, who faces the prospect of deportation, will be sentenced on December 7.