A Burnaby massage therapist whose "life, finances, and professional reputation" were "irrevocably damaged" when he was accused of sexually assaulting a female patient at his Surrey clinic in 2022 has been acquitted.
Gudbjartur Bodhi Haraldsson, 52, was in Surrey provincial court for a three-day trial earlier this month.
On July 4 – after testimony from the female patient, a friend she called directly after the alleged incident, and Haraldsson – Crown prosecutor Emma Waterman asked B.C. provincial court Judge Delaram Jahani to acquit Haraldsson.
"Upon close review of my notes of the evidence that has come out over the past three days, I'm unable to say in good faith that the Crown has proven its case beyond a reasonable doubt," Waterman said.
Haraldsson’s lawyer Kevin Brian Westell said he welcomed the Crown's request and was prepared to support it by presenting the "principal problems" with the case.
But Jahani said that wouldn't be necessary.
She said the Crown's request was "completely appropriate" based on the evidence she had heard during the judge-alone trial.
"I have to say that I had significant concerns with respect to the reliability and credibility of the complainant's evidence," Jahani said. "There were many internal and external inconsistencies in her evidence, looking at the totality, that were detrimental, if not fatal to her credibility."
Jahani said she believed Haraldsson's account of what "actually" happened during the therapy session and the steps he took as soon as he left the room that day.
"Moreover, I have to say for the record, that I do find him innocent of this crime and, therefore, based on an assessment of the totality of the evidence, I do acquit Mr. Haraldsson of the offence before the court," Jahani said.
Haraldsson, who has been a registered massage therapist for 32 years, was arrested and charged with one count of sexual assault on Nov. 25, 2022 after Surrey RCMP received a report about an alleged incident on Nov. 14 of that year at the PainPRO Massage clinic in Surrey.
The female patient who filed the report, had received treatment from Haraldsson about once a month for about two years before the incident, according to evidence presented in court.
There was no dispute about whether the woman, who can't be identified because of a publication ban, had had an appointment with Haraldsson on Nov. 14, 2022.
"What's controversial is what happened at that appointment," Westell said.
The woman told the court Haraldsson had sexually assaulted her with his hand.
Haraldsson said it was the client who had "sexualized" the treatment, grabbing his hand and asking him to get involved.
He said he had not but rather pulled his hand away and ended the session shortly after.
"My thought was 'Holy shit! What do I do here? How do I get out of this situation? How do I stop this without making her feel uncomfortable?'" Haraldsson told the court.
Directly after leaving the room, he said he instructed the patient relations clerk to cancel all the woman's future appointments, and he emailed the client the following day to say he was terminating their therapeutic relationship.
"I acted based on my college's instructions," he said. "When a patient sexualizes treatment, you terminate the therapeutic relationship. You send them notification of that. You write up a report of what happened. That is what the college instructs us to do."
When asked why he didn't notify police, he said he wasn't sure if the woman grabbing his arm qualified as an assault.
In an email to the NOW after the acquittal, Westell said Haraldsson has been "vindicated" by the verdict and the "exceptional comments made by the trial judge, which included an explicit finding that he was 'innocent' of the allegation."
Haraldsson and his family look forward to putting the incident behind them and carrying on their lives, according to Westell.
"Sadly, regardless of this positive outcome, it is still the case that in large part his life, finances, and professional reputation have been irrevocably damaged by this false allegation," Westell said.
Haraldsson is currently banned from treating female patients and from taking online bookings.
He still faces proceedings at the College of Complementary Health Professionals of BC, the body that now governs registered massage therapists in the province.
Those proceedings had been put on hold pending the conclusion of the criminal matter.
Follow Cornelia Naylor on X/Twitter @CorNaylor
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