Unlicensed massage therapist found not guilty of sexually assaulting 4 women in small Manitoba community - CBC.ca

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WARNING: The following story includes details of alleged sexual assaults.

An unlicensed massage therapist accused of sexually assaulting women during massages in the basement of his rural Manitoba home has been acquitted after a trial earlier this year.

Bernhard Unger was charged with sexual assault after four women alleged he touched them inappropriately for a sexual purpose in 2022 during massages at his home in the southeastern Manitoba community of Blumenort.

The women alleged Unger rubbed his penis on their arms and hands as they lay on the massage table, while some also accused him of touching them underneath their underwear, provincial court Judge Michael Clark said in a Steinbach courtroom on June 21.

Unger also testified on his own behalf during the trial in April. He said in each case, any inappropriate touching was inadvertent and never done for a sexual purpose.

Judge Clark said he found the women who testified sincere and that he was skeptical about certain aspects of Unger's testimony.

That included his testimony that he didn't remember individual client interactions, despite at one point saying he specifically remembered hugging one of the complainants.

However, the judge also said he found some of the women's testimony inconsistent. That included one woman who told police she didn't know if Unger had taken his penis out of his pants before he allegedly touched her with it, but said in court that he had.

Judge Clark said while the touching could have happened on purpose, "at this point it's too dangerous for me to make the leap" to concluding that was the case based on the women's testimony.

"I cannot convict on what sounds like a balance of probabilities standard," Clark said.

The Crown also introduced similar fact evidence related to the similarities among the women's accounts of what happened. However, the judge said even if that established a pattern of behaviour, prosecutors would still have to prove the charges beyond a reasonable doubt.

"The fact that it's four women with similar stories could lead to the conclusion that the touching was for a sexual purpose, but in my mind it is just as likely that it could have happened [because] the technique that Mr. Unger was using caused inadvertent touching," Clark said, finding Unger not guilty on all four counts of sexual assault.

"I'm not saying I do not believe these women who made these allegations. It may be that the touching happened as they described, save and except for the naked penis.

"However, it's just that I cannot find on the evidence that these touches were for a sexual purpose and that the Crown has proven beyond a reasonable doubt."

A fifth charge of sexual assault related to one of the four complainants was stayed during the trial, after it became clear during the woman's testimony that her recollection was different than the dates on the charges as laid, a provincial spokesperson said.

As a result, the Crown amended one of the counts related to that woman to have more expansive dates, and stayed the other count as the dates it had were outside what the witness indicated, the spokesperson said.

Unger was initially charged with one count of sexual assault in October 2022. Police announced a year later that he'd also been charged with counts related to three other people.

At the time, police said Unger was accused of sexually assaulting the women while posing as a registered massage therapist.

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For anyone who has been sexually assaulted, there is support available through crisis lines and local support services via the Ending Violence Association of Canada database. If you're in immediate danger or fear for your safety or that of others around you, please call 911.

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