Virginia Beach massage therapist convicted on charges of sexually assaulting clients - The Virginian-Pilot

[massage]

A Virginia Beach massage therapist was convicted Friday of multiple charges stemming from the sexual assault of women during appointments with him.

Police learned of the assaults on April 20, 2022, and discovered an undisclosed number of other clients who reported being assaulted by Malik Sayvon Williams that year from March 28 to May 28. The Hampton man was convicted on two counts of object sexual penetration, aggravated sexual battery and battery.

Williams, 29, was working at the Wine and Unwind Day Spa in the Kempsville area at the time of the assaults, according to the Virginia Beach Commonwealth’s Attorney’s Office.

Williams admitted to sexual conduct with his clients in an interview with detectives, but said most of the women consented, the CWA said.

“He claimed he got their consent by the way the women looked at him,” the CWA said. “He also admitted, ‘Sometimes I don’t gauge it right.’”

During the four-day trial in Virginia Beach Circuit Court, a massage therapy expert testified that any sexual contact between a massage therapist and a client is “unethical” and is grounds for their license being revoked. The expert also explained the power differential between a massage therapist and their client, which she said makes clients “increasingly vulnerable,” according to the CWA.

Williams will be sentenced Sept. 18.

Gavin Stone, 757-712-4806, [email protected]

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