Image Credit: ADOBE STOCK
January 19, 2024 - 7:00 PM
CONTENT ADVISORY
A Vernon massage therapist has had his licence cancelled by the provincial regulator more than a year after he was convicted of sexual assault.
Daniel Edward Guy Dakin admitted to not only the sexual assault he was convicted of, but also a "sexualized" treatment with another patient that wasn't dealt with during his criminal investigation.
The BC College of Massage Therapists banned him from reapplying for a licence until 2038, according to a Dec. 20, 2023, decision recently posted to its website.
In September 2022, Dakin was convicted of sexual assault against a client he was working with for two years.
He started by giving her free massages when the middle-aged man was in school learning the trade. Once he graduated, he kept giving her free massages for the experience and the two became friends, the court heard.
READ MORE: Vernon massage therapist guilty of sexual assault won't get a criminal record
During a February 2020 appointment, he failed to immediately put on a sheet after it fell off and exposed her vagina. Later, he massaged her inner thighs and stroked her pubic bone, and he also reached under the sheet and stroked her breasts, according to the college decision.
The second patient, who wasn't a victim in the 2022 court case, involved a more consensual relationship.
The married father-of-one had a sexual relationship with a patient that began in December 2020, according to the college decision, which said his treatment was sexualized rather than therapeutic.
On multiple occasions he was giving her massages at her home while wearing his boxers and the appointments escalated to sexual intercourse in February 2021, according to the decision.
For his behaviour with the two clients, his licence was cancelled and he won't be able to reapply again for 15 years.
READ MORE: Kamloops man raped mother of child, gets two years jail
Dakin was given an 18-month probation order and a conditional discharge when he was sentenced in 2022.
Provincial Court Judge Richard Hewson said Dakin, who wept upon his conviction, had "real" remorse for his crime. Dakin "hated himself" for what he did, Hewson said.
"Many times what is described as remorse is an offender's regret, finally having to face the consequences of their conduct," the judge said.
However, Judge Hewson said when real remorse is found to be present it should be a significant mitigating factor in an offender's sentence.
The conditional discharge means he would dodge a criminal record as long as he didn't breach his probation. Online court records show no results to suggest he has breached those conditions.
While he couldn't escape a longer punishment from the massage therapist regulator, Dakin already gave up his licence before he was criminally charged. It came after his victim, who was disabled and needed massages for her health, contacted him to describe how much he traumatized her, the court heard.
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