A former massage therapist has been sent to prison for sexually touching two clients in regional Victoria.
Warning: This article includes descriptions of sexual abuse.
Tomey Mathew, 33, had no qualifications for his role as a massage therapist and was learning on the job at a business in Mildura, north-west Victoria, in 2025.
His former employer told the Mildura Magistrates' Court that, during his training, Mathew had been told that touching women in private places was not permitted.
The court heard that, during his time in the industry, Mathew estimated he massaged five women.
Three of these women might have been staff.
The two that were not colleagues went to police after their massages to lodge sexual assault claims against him.
Touching 'not accidental'
The first victim went to Massage Borneo 1 in Langtree Mall on March 13, 2025 for a 45-minute oil massage.
Mathew was called, took payment and began the massage.
The court heard everything seemed normal as he massaged the woman's legs, arms, feet, shoulders and head.
The victim then recalled being unable to speak and freezing in fear as Mathew reached under a towel covering her breasts and grabbed at her.
The court heard he was asked to stop but repeated the act soon after as he leaned over her from behind her head.
The second victim had booked a 30-minute neck massage which lasted close to an hour on April 5, 2025.
She was also touched under the towel by Mathew, who circled her breasts twice before he was told to stop and left the room.
Mathew denied touching the breasts of either woman, either intentionally or accidentally.
The court heard that, due to the manner of the touching and the duration, the conduct could not be explained as an accident.
Profound and far-reaching impact
Victim impact statements from both women were read in court.
The first victim said, since the incident, she had become hyperaware of consent and boundaries and had experienced anxiety attacks.
She said she experienced ghost sensations and flashbacks of the incident.
The second victim said intimacy felt different and unsettling and she could not avoid a persistent uneasy feeling.
Defence lawyer Robert Thyssen argued there was no evidence of sexual gratification by Mathew in either act.
He said the offences were "of fleeting nature" due to Mathew's minimal experience and training.
Magistrate Greg Thomas said he did not agree with the word fleeting, as Mathew knew he was not supposed to touch the women's breasts.
Prosecutors push for jail term
Police prosecutor Leading Senior Constable Jackie Lowe argued that anything less than imprisonment would be manifestly inadequate.
She said the victims had expressed lifelong implications from the offending and were exposed to more trauma by giving evidence in court.
She also argued Mathew was not remorseful, as he contested the charges, and said "regret post-conviction and remorse are two different things".
Mr Thyssen said the complainants were not at risk of being victims of reoffending, as Mathew had moved to Queensland to work as kitchen hand in an aged care facility.
He described Mathew as hard working in a sector where staff were hard to obtain and argued jail should be a last resort.
But Magistrate Thomas said, even if a community corrections order was available, he did not consider it an adequate sentence.
"Because of the serious nature of offending, the breach of trust involved and lack of remorse, no other disposition other than a term of imprisonment is appropriate," Magistrate Thomas said.
He sentenced Mathew to five months in jail.
