Halifax massage therapist seeks to vary conditions on sex charge - SaltWire NS

[Steve Bruce]

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A Halifax massage therapist accused of sexually assaulting a female client in December has applied to have his release conditions varied so he can travel out of country for a vacation.

Halifax Regional Police announced March 6 that Sergii Kozub, 43, had been charged following an investigation into an alleged sexual assault at a clinic on Lacewood Drive in Halifax.


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The Chronicle Herald has confirmed that the incident allegedly happened the same day it was reported to police – Dec. 9 – at Massage Addict, where Kozub was employed at the time.

Kozub was arrested March 5 and released on an undertaking with conditions requiring him to remain in Nova Scotia, surrender his passport, have no communication with the complainant and not go to her residence.

He was scheduled to be arraigned in Halifax provincial court April 14 but appeared in front of a judge Thursday seeking to have his release conditions changed.

Prosecutor Nick Comeau advised the court the Crown was not consenting to the variation and would need a few days to prepare for a hearing on the application.

The application will be heard Tuesday. Judge Mark Heerema has ordered a Russian interpreter for the proceeding at the request of Kozub’s lawyer, Pavel Boubnov.

The judge imposed a publication ban on the identity of the complainant.

According to an online biography, Kozub graduated from a massage therapy program in February 2023 and was registered with the Massage Therapists’ Association of Nova Scotia.


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The association has suspended Kozub’s membership pending the outcome of an internal investigation.

The organization’s website describes the complaints process but does not list complaints or the names of people sanctioned.

The website notes that because massage therapy is not a regulated health profession in the province, any disciplinary action taken against a member of the association can only be enforced within its membership.

That means that if the association takes disciplinary action, such as putting limitations on a member or revoking membership, the therapist could legally choose to continue working in Nova Scotia without being a member of the association.

“We cannot stop a person from practising, only from practising as an MTANS member,” the website says.


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