Ottawa massage therapist acquitted in four sex assault cases

John Ackerman, the former Ottawa massage therapist who took the stand in his own defence, has been acquitted in four sex assault cases involving clients who came to him to ease their pain.

Ackerman, 56, denied the allegations, said he only massaged the clients where they consented, and after their accounts were tested in court, his defence lawyer Natasha Calvinho won four acquittals.

In a decision released Monday, Ontario Superior Court Justice Pierre Roger noted that while the Crown established the absence of any deliberate collusion, the four women who don’t know one another, all read information about the accused which could have “coloured her interpretation of what occurred or reinforced a perception of the incident about which she had doubts.”

The four women came forward separately to report allegations ranging from 2015 to 2018, and did so after reading an Ottawa police press release and allegations on the website of the college of registered massage therapists.

One woman complained to the college after reading about allegations against Ackerman on the regulatory board’s website. She later reported her allegations to Ottawa police.

In cross-examination led by Calvinho, the complainant agreed that “police communicated to her the idea that she had been the victim of a sexual assault.”

The judge found that all four complainants testified fairly but because the events in question took place years ago, they “could not always precisely remember.”

Some of the complainants’ testimony was inconsistent and so the judge had legally-founded issues with the reliability of their evidence — and enough to afford reasonable doubt.

The women testified that they felt vulnerable and uncomfortable during the massages — and all said he touched them inappropriately.

But when the accounts were dissected by Calvinho in cross-examination, inconsistencies were revealed.

For example, in examination-in-chief, one complainant testified that she was “in a bit of shock” when Ackerman massaged her “entire rear side.” She told court she was uncomfortable and anxious.

But under cross-examination by Calvinho, the woman testified that Ackerman asked her if she wished to have her “glutes” massaged, and she said recalled saying yes. She went on to tell court that the massage therapist relieved tension. She also said, again under cross-examination, that she was “very at ease with him massaging her glutes” (large muscle in buttocks).

In another case, the judge noted that while the complainant appeared to be a credible witness, the reliability of her evidence could have been affected by an Ottawa police press release she read in 2019. It prompted her to call police about Ackerman.

“It could also have been affected by the (allegations) on the (regulatory college’s) website … Any of these could have shifted (the complainant’s) perception of whether Ackerman touched the side of her breast,” the judge ruled.

The judge expressed concern that one woman’s perception and recollection of what occurred could have been influenced by the police press release announcing that Ackerman had been charged with one count of sexual assault.

“Her testimony about when she felt that the massage had been inappropriate was not entirely convincing considering what she said at the preliminary inquiry and in her police statement about when she had felt that the massage was inappropriate or “a little inappropriate.”

In the end, the judge found reasonable doubt in all four sex-assault cases and acquitted Ackerman.

Reached on Tuesday, Ackerman declined to give detailed comment, saying it was too soon and that he was just “enjoying the moment” of being cleared in court.

His defence lawyer said Ackerman was relieved to have the “terrible allegations against him dismissed.”

Calvinho said her client has always maintained his innocence and “now that has been proven.”

“While he has sadly lost his career due to these allegations, in being found not guilty, he no longer has the cloud of suspicion hanging over him. He is happy to have his life back,” Calvinho said.

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