East Lothian massage therapist sexually assaulted women during treatment sessions

A massage therapist sexually assaulted two female clients by groping their breasts during treatment sessions at his clinic.

Gavin Murray fondled the women after they had booked massage appointments to help treat back and neck problems at his business in Dunbar, East Lothian.

Murray, 60, slid his hand under the towels the women were wearing and touched their breasts while they were lying on their back on a massage table.

One woman said she felt “violated” and was forced to take time off work following the attack while the second victim claimed she was “exposed” and “uncomfortable” during the massage session.

Gavin Murray was found to have sexually assaulted women during treatment sessions.

Murray, of Dunbar, denied sexually assaulting the two women at his business premises but was found guilty following a three day trial that concluded at Edinburgh Sheriff Court on Friday.

The first victim told the court she attended for massage sessions with Murray for treatment to her neck, back and shoulders after contacting him on Facebook in November 2021.

She said during the second meeting he asked her to lie on her back with a towel covering her upper body and “his hands went under the towel and he massaged down my breasts”.

She said: “His hands went down my cleavage and he brought them back up again over my breasts. He touched my nipples. I was stunned to the spot. I have never been touched intimately like that apart from my husband in 20 years. I certainly never consented to it - I felt violated by it.”

The woman, who is in her 40s, said she “reacted by putting her hands across her chest” before abruptly getting up off the massage table and leaving the room.

The woman told the court she had subsequently suffered panic attacks due to the assault and was forced to take time off work due to stress.

The second victim told the court she suffered from muscular and back pain and contacted Murray through his social media page after being recommended to him in June 2022.

The woman, who is in her 30s, said she attended three appointments with the therapist and on the third occasion he had asked her to lie on her back with a towel covering her upper body.

She told the trial Murray used both hands to massage “under my arms and down the side of my breasts” as he slid his hands under the towel.

The woman said: “His fingers were so far down they were just about touching my nipples. I didn’t do anything as I didn’t know what to do in that situation.”

She said Murray had “stopped just short of touching my nipples” and that she had felt “very exposed” and “uncomfortable” during the massage session.

The court heard Murray attempted to contact the woman to arrange further appointments but she had blocked his number and after speaking to her partner reported the incident to the police.

Murray told the trial he admitted putting his hands under the towels the women were wearing while he massaged them but denied touching the women inappropriately.

But following the evidence, Sheriff Ian Anderson told Murray he believed the witnesses accounts of what had happened to them and found him guilty of both charges of sex assault.

Sheriff Anderson placed Murray on the Sex Offenders Register and deferred sentence to next month for social work reports to be prepared.

Murray was found guilty of sexually assaulting two women by touching their breasts without consent at a business premises at High Street, Dunbar, East Lothian, on November 3, 2021 and June 30, 2022.