The woman, who is not identified in the court ruling, booked and paid for a massage online with We Massage on Oct. 28, 2015.
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Following a criminal trial, Martin Contreras-Ramirez, the woman’s masseur, was convicted of sexually assaulting her. In July 2017, he was sentenced to 12 months in jail.
The victim then filed her civil lawsuit in B.C. Supreme Court.
The criminal trial heard that she wanted a massage to address a shoulder injury and made inquiries as to the legitimacy of the massage service when she realized that the massage would take place in Contreras-Ramirez’s residence.
She removed all of her clothing save her underwear during the massage and got on the table on her back, covering herself with a sheet. After she had fallen asleep during the massage, she woke up to find the masseur rubbing her right breast and digitally penetrating her vagina.
The victim yelled profanities at him, got dressed quickly and left the house and got into her car, locking herself in and calling police.
When police arrived, they found her visibly upset, with one of the officers describing her as being hysterical.
“The plaintiff was a confident and outgoing woman before the assault, often out to dinners with friends, movies, parties, weekend road trips, and hosted gatherings at her house,” B.C. Supreme Court Justice Robert Punnett said in his ruling on the civil suit. “After the assault, she changed. Initially, she suffered from considerable shame and guilt, stayed home, avoided contact with others, slept and suffered a loss of appetite.”
At the time of the attack, she was employed as a military public affairs officer. But she has lost her career, having been told she will be medically released from the Canadian Armed Forces this summer.
“The plaintiff deposes that from the time she was 15 she wanted to join the Canadian Armed Forces and directed her efforts to that goal,” said the judge. “As that career has been brought to an end, she struggles with her identity and her prospects.”