A woman who alleges a masseur sexually assaulted her said she felt violated by his actions.
“Instead of being massaged, somebody violated me,” she said.
The witness, who cannot be identified under a publication ban, testified April 17 in the trial of Jun Dung Gao. The trial began April 15 before Vancouver Provincial Court Judge Ellen Gordon.
In admissions of fact read to the court by Crown prosecutor Gail Barnes, Gordon heard the accused has admitted to giving each of the four complainant women massages.
“He is not admitting that he assaulted them,” Barnes said.
Gao has pleaded not guilty to four counts of sexual assault after incidents at two massage locations in East Vancouver in 2022.
Vancouver Police Department (VPD) initially announced that two women reported being sexually assaulted at two different Happy Feet Massage locations.
Court documents allege two incidents happened Feb. 6, 2022 while two others occurred Jan. 15 and Jan. 30, 2022.
The woman who testified April 17 is a complainant in the February incident. She told the court the alleged sexual assault left her in "a bit of a state of shock."
The court heard she went to the hospital after and was examined. Pictures presented to the court showed bruising on her body, something she’d never had after a massage before.
“I was in a lot of pain,” she said.
The massage company's owners cooperated with police and Gao was arrested on Feb. 10, the VPD said.
The police issued a news release about the situation and, ultimately, four women became complainants in the case, each of whom was due to testify.
First witness
The first witness told Gordon she had gone to Happy Feet to see another masseur numerous times to get relief from cramping in her hands from work.
Not guilty pleas
Gao pleaded not guilty Feb. 22 and elected to be tried by a provincial court judge.
He was released on bail Nov. 14, 2022.
Bail conditions included no practicing massage or any other service where he'd physically touch a client.
Gao is also prohibited from applying for a Chinese passport or any other travel document. He cannot leave B.C. without permission from a bail supervisor. And, can have no contact with four women and must stay away from two East Vancouver locations.
The BC College of Massage Therapists has confirmed to Glacier Media that it has never had a registrant named Jun Dong Gao.
The case is set for seven days.
