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December 12, 2023 - 7:00 PM
A BC man was sentenced to two years in jail for sexually assaulting up to a dozen clients at his massage business.
Most of the women were pregnant who he would target through social media inviting them for free or discounted services at his business Bud's Massage Therapy in Abbotsford.
Reinhard Loewen, 59, was convicted on six counts of sexual assault, amounting to a total two years in jail, according to a Nov. 2 decision.
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The assaults took place between September 2018 and October 2020, according to the decision.
He opened the business in an Abbotsford basement suite two months after he finished a one-week massage course, according to the decision.
He groped multiple women over the two-year period, massaging their breasts and vaginas, telling the court he "made assumptions" about their comfort level, the decision read. He told the court he wasn't aroused by the touching and didn't have fantasies.
Since Loewen was charged, he and his family faced shunning and shaming from the public, but he maintained "unquestioned" support from some close to him in the community, especially his church.
The judge noted that Loewen felt aggrieved that the victims were given priority over his concerns during the court process.
"Loewen was in and used a position of trust to lure women, many of them vulnerable, into his work area where they found themselves more isolated and vulnerable. In that setting, he sexually assaulted them, sometimes repeatedly over the course of a session," Justice Ian Caldwell said, noting the assaults would sometimes continue despite their protests.
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The women suffered psychologically and emotionally because of what he did, Caldwell noted.
"These are the actions of a calculating, committed, long-term, serial sexual predator," Caldwell said.
Each of the six charges ranged in sentences from three months to five, amounting to two years. Loewen will then be subject to a three-year probation order, which includes a ban on giving massage services.
He also will not be allowed to get massage treatments, unless the provider is informed of his previous convictions and he has a male supervisor in the room.
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