Former Senior Firefighter Avoids Jail for Indecent Assault During Massage

A former senior firefighter has avoided imprisonment for indecently assaulting a woman he was providing a professional massage to. Valentine Ansett, 55, was found guilty in a Hobart Magistrates Court hearing earlier this year of indecent assault and assault with indecent intent, at his massage business in Hobart in 2024. Magistrate Robert Webster said the assault with indecent intent, where Ansett placed his hand on the woman's genital region over a sarong, was during the "chakra balancing" part of the massage.

"[Ansett] admitted in a police interview that this technique was not something he was taught to do, not something he normally did," Magistrate Webster said. The indecent assault involved him touching her breasts.

Victim's life 'profoundly impacted', court hears

Magistrate Webster said that Ansett had had a "long and distinguished" role in the Tasmania Fire Service (TFS), serving as a professional firefighter for more than 30 years, and had been an acting district officer for the TFS. Ansett was stood down from that role in 2024, and his massage business has closed.

"[His] future employment situation is uncertain," he said. He said although Ansett was cooperative with police and sorry about the impact the offending has had on the woman, "you still do not consider you have done anything wrong."

"She was in a very vulnerable position … in the context of a therapeutic relationship, she ultimately placed trust in you," Magistrate Webster said. "You breached that trust while she was vulnerable for your own sexual gratification."

A victim impact statement was read aloud to the court last week, during sentencing submissions.

"My life has been profoundly impacted by the assault," the prosecutor told the court on behalf of the victim. She said she has been depressed and nearly took her life on two occasions.

Magistrate Webster recorded a conviction and sentenced him to three months' imprisonment, wholly suspended for 18 months, meaning he will only go to jail if he commits another offence in that time. Ansett's lawyer indicated that he had already filed an appeal of the conviction to the Criminal Court of Appeal, which will be mentioned in the Supreme Court of Tasmania in September.