Christopher Barnes 49

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A qualified masseur sexually assaulted three women after he had been arrested and questioned by police in relation to similar attacks on other women.

Christopher Barnes, 46, was jailed for four years during a hearing on Friday (October 29) at Liverpool Crown Court after a jury found him guilty of sexually assaulting his clients.

One of the victims told Barnes that she hoped that he "rotted in hell" for the damage he had caused her.

Michael Scholes, prosecuting, told the court how Barnes touched the breasts and groins of six women who booked treatment at his Rose Lane clinic.

Barnes of Wellington Street, Garston, had previously groped two women in the space of two months in 2018 at his south Liverpool clinic, leaving them feeling disgusted, vulnerable and frightened.

He pleaded guilty to two counts of sexual assault weeks before a trial and was handed 20 months in prison, suspended for two years, in June 2019.

But more women then contacted the police to say they too had been sexually abused by Barnes after reading about him in the ECHO.

In total Barnes molested eight women during massages when he abused a position of trust to take advantage of customers suffering from pain and stress.

On Friday Judge Neil Flewitt, QC described how Barnes committed three sexual assaults after being arrested and interviewed by police in April 2018 following claims by two other women.

Judge Flewitt said: "It is also an aggravating feature of this case that you sexually assaulted three women after you had been arrested and interviewed in relation to the allegations made by two other women.

"In addition, the fact that you committed offences against eight different women indicates that these offences were not the product of a momentary lapse of judgement but instead suggests a degree of planning in that you were, in my view, looking out for suitable victims."

Judge Flewitt also pointed out that Barnes used the veneer of his status as a qualified masseur to carry out a string of sexual assaults.

Judge Flewitt said: "I recognise that, when you committed these offences, you were a properly qualified masseur, not a charlatan pretending to have skills which were beyond you.

"However, that fact is of limited value because it means that you were well aware that what you were doing was inappropriate and of no therapeutic value."

Judge Flewitt also addressed the impact Barnes had on his victims when sentencing him.

One victim told the jury: "It felt like parts of it were more for his gratification that what Id agreed to which was a relaxation treatment.

Another victim said: I felt like I was being abused and taken advantage of Im a very proud woman and to be touched in those areas was mortifying for me.

A woman said: It just didnt feel like a massage, it didnt feel like Reiki, it felt like caressing

Sentencing Barnes on Friday Judge Neil Flewitt, QC, said: "You committed offences against eight different women.

"You continue to deny the offences and show little or no remorse.

"Your continued denials increase the risk of harm to lone females."

Judge Flewitt jailed Barnes for four years and told him he would be subject to a sexual offences prevention order when he was released on licence.