Man sexually assaulted during spa massage then blackmailed, police say

[drlove 37204]

Man sexually assaulted during spa massage then blackmailed, police say

 

 

https://ca.news.yahoo.com/winnipeg-spa-owner-employee-charged-162459989.html?nhp=1

 

 

CBC

 

June 20, 2016

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Man sexually assaulted during spa massage then blackmailed, police say

 

 

 

 

 

 

The owner and employee of a Winnipeg beauty spa face extortion charges after a man says he was sexually assaulted, videotaped and threatened with the footage.

Police believe there are other victims as well and are urging them to come forward.

Simple Mehta, the owner of Simi Magic Spa on St. Anne's Road, is charged with extortion, procuring and conspiracy to commit an indictable offence.

The employee, Pam Sandu, 22, is charged with extortion, voyeurism, sexual assault and conspiracy to commit an indictable offence.

Mehta has also been accused of enlisting another woman to "offer or provide sexual services," according to court documents.

Police say a 29-year-old man, who was in a business relationship with 39-year-old Mehta, went to the spa on a business matter and was offered a massage by an employee while he waited for Mehta.

Once he had prepared himself for the massage, the man was sexually assaulted and discovered he was being videotaped with a cellphone, police said.

"At this point the victim was extorted out of a sum of money with the threat that the video recording would be released," police said.

The man handed over "thousands" of dollars before going to police to report the incident, police spokesperson Const. Rob Carver said at a news conference.

Asked if the assault was actually a sexual favour the man had agreed to, Carver said it doesn't appear he was under the impression "he was getting anything other than a regular massage."

Carver also said police believe the man is likely not alone in being blackmailed in that way.

"It is our understanding that there's certainly a potential there are other victims, and if anyone feels they have any connection, we'd like them to come forward for sure," he said.

Asked if the police believe the incident was a "systemic" issue at Simi Magic Spa, Carver said "we believe that's the potential here, yes."

"We had received information that had put this business on our radar, but we hadn't been able to move forward prior to this," he said.

That "information" isn't restricted to sexual assault, he added, saying police are looking into the possibility "that other criminal activity may have been occurring at the business."

Mehta and Sandhu remain in police custody and more information on further charges could be released on Tuesday, police said.

The investigation continues, and anyone with information is asked to call police at 204-986-3464 or Crime Stoppers at 204-786-TIPS (8477).

[Zarhan Fastfire 6450]

I said it from the start when the new law was enacted. Criminalize sex (for the buyer only) and you have the perfect opportunity for blackmail--criminal record, loss of friends and family--or money? Tough choice for a lot of people. Hence this poor guy being forced to claim, absurdly, after he has already paid 'thousands of dollars' to the extorter, that he was 'assaulted'. But you see he has to do that so as to escape charges and for the sake of a black-and-white narrative being presented in the media. I'm not saying a man cannot be sexually assaulted by a woman, under the broad definition used under the law (unwanted groping counts), but it's rather difficult to imagine someone being blackmailed for thousands, for a five-to-twenty-second video of you touching them, them telling you 'no', and you stopping. I doubt very much we'll hear of a video at trial in which he was pinned down and demonstrably wanked against his will for several minutes. Can you imagine any woman being blackmailed by a rapist? You don't blackmail people with evidence of your sins, you blackmail people with evidence of theirs. But (a) he cannot admit to it for obvious reasons and (b) neither can the police, for the same absurdly obvious reasons. But I do hope other victims of blackmail and (cough) sexual assault in Simi's, do come forward if there be any. Sounds like the owner was a greedy pig and deserves to be put away for a long time.