A massage therapist is facing jail after he subjected a woman to a two-hour long sexual assault when she went for treatment to a sports injury.
Happy Suwali, 38, told the woman to undress apart from a small towel before he groped her breasts and private parts.
Prosecutor Simon Jessop said: ‘The massage went on for some considerable time. She paid for 45 to 60 minutes but she describes it going on for almost two hours.
‘She felt extremely uncomfortable because obviously she was in an enclosed area and didn’t feel able to leave.’
Suwali, who conducted sessions at his home in Norwich and advertised his services on social media under the name ‘Happy Massage’, admitted three counts of sexual assault.
Magistrates sent the case to the city’s crown court as their powers were insufficient for the starting point of two years’ jail time for the offences
Suwali’s adverts on social media including Instagram offered clients ‘ultimate relaxation and wellness’ Swedish and deep tissue massages, saying they would ‘elevate your spirit, nourish your body’.
Happy Suwali, 38, told the woman to undress apart from a small towel before he groped her breasts and private parts
He has also offered free massages to volunteers under special promotions.
Mr Jessop told the hearing yesterday that the victim went to self-employed Suwali’s home on April 30 last year after spotting one of his adverts.
He was arrested after the woman reported the incident to police.
The sexual assault was a ‘serious breach of trust’ as he was promoting himself as a qualified masseur, the prosecutor said.
‘If you are setting yourself up online as a business that invites people around to your house where a sexual assault occurs, that crosses the line into the more serious category in terms of planning,’ Mr Jessop added.
Bethanie Mantin, defending, told the Bench her client was an ‘extremely vulnerable individual’ with autism and learning disabilities.
She said: ‘Despite pleading guilty he states he had no intention of causing harm whatsoever.
Suwali, who conducted sessions at his home in Norwich and advertised his services on social media under the name ‘Happy Massage’, admitted 3 counts of sexual assault
The defendant will be sentenced at Norwich Crown Court next month
‘He says it was not for sexual gratification. It was something he thought he should [do].
‘I appreciate this seems like a bizarre statement to make but it should be seen within the context of his mental disorders.
‘He does now accept that it was wrong and is deeply remorseful and sorry for his actions.’
In 2022, women who had been sexually assaulted by massage therapists revealed their harrowing experiences and demanded greater regulation of the industry.
Victims told BBC radio’s File On 4 how they were abused while in the vulnerable position of being naked and alone in the room with men who they thought were trusted massage therapists.
Most of the attacks took place in the client’s own home after the practitioner was booked via one of a growing number of apps and websites offering mobile beauty and wellness services at the click of a button.
The programme also revealed how the industry is largely unregulated, with no licensing of practitioners.
It means anyone, even individuals without qualifications or with a criminal conviction, could practise as a massage therapist.
Suwali will be sentenced on June 22.
