Scottish sports therapist sexually assaulted six men during massages

A SPORTS therapist sexually assaulted six men while giving them massages for their injuries at his home.

Matthew Priest fondled the men during massage sessions after they had contacted his firm The Edinburgh Massage which he ran from his flat in Leith.

Priest - who set up a treatment room in his living room - assaulted one victim by brushing his hand against the man’s naked genitals during one massage.

The therapist also grabbed another man’s penis after being asked to massage the man’s shoulders and legs.

Edinburgh Sheriff Court. Picture: Ian Georgeson

And just weeks later in June 2016 a third victim was also sexually assaulted when 40-year-old Priest began touching the man’s erect penis as he lay on the treatment table.

All three victims were said to have rushed from the makeshift treatment clinic after being touched by the sports therapist.

Priest admitted the three charges when he appeared at Edinburgh Sheriff Court earlier this year and on Monday he returned to court to plead guilty to a further three sex assaults on different men.

The court heard Priest advertised through social media and fondled the men after they had made massage therapy appointments due to sports injuries.

Sheriff Robert Weir QC told Priest, of Easter Road, Edinburgh, he had carried out “a serious breach of trust” and that a community-based order would “better protect the public”.

The sheriff placed Priest on a five-year Sexual Offenders Prevention Order and placed him on the sex offenders register for the same term.

Priest will also be under supervision for the next two years and must attend sessions with the sex offenders programme Moving Forward Making Changes.

The therapist will also have to compete 300 hours of unpaid work in the community in the next nine months and allow all his internet devices to be checked on request.

Priest admitted a total of six charges of sexually assaulting six men by touching their penis at his home in Edinburgh between January 2015 and June this year.

All the victims cannot be identified due to legal reasons.

During the court hearing earlier this year it was revealed the first three male victims contacted Priest through a Facebook advert after they had injured themselves playing sports.

Prosecutor Jack Caster said the therapist’s living room was also used as a treatment room for his business The Edinburgh Massage.

The first man attended at Priest’s home suffering from hamstring and back problems in January 2016 and was told to strip down to his underwear and to lie on the treatment table.

The man then had his shoulders and legs massaged before Priest removed the man’s boxer shorts and as he moved his hand up the man’s leg he intentionally brushed against the man’s exposed genitals.

The second victim attended for treatment to an injury with Priest in May 2016 and he also had his genitals exposed while having a massage.

The man’s penis was then grabbed by Priest and as he felt uncomfortable the fiscal said the man rushed from the flat.

The third attack came just three weeks later in June 2016 when Priest again touched a client’s penis during a sports massage.

The man was said to have become erect and ejaculated during the incident and he was also said to have dressed quickly and before fleeing the flat and calling in the police.

Priest offered £45 per hour advanced sports massage sessions and according to his website, which has since been closed, he offered “generous appointment times and a hands-on approach to target the root cause of problems”.

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