Melbourne massage therapist jailed for rape and sexual assault

·

Melbourne massage therapist Michael Sergides has been sentenced to five years and nine months in jail after being found guilty of rape and sexual assault by the Victorian County Court. 

Michael Sergides is two months into a sentence he received for sexually violating a female client on the massage table.

“You took advantage of her vulnerability in an entitled way that has caused deep and enduring trauma to her,” Judge Martine Marich told Sergides, 75, as he watched on a video link from prison.

“These are the types of incidents that cause concern in women that they are not safe from opportunistic sexual violation.”

The woman visited Sergides’ home on June 26, 2018, for a back and shoulder massage after her friend found his advertisement on sales website Gumtree.

The woman, aged in her 20s, said she felt frozen, worthless and empty during the massage and called her friend and her mother once she left. The woman then went straight to the police.

In an impact statement, the woman said the crimes left her lost, isolated and housebound, without anything that brought her joy. She self-harmed, her relationships with loved ones suffered and her mental health declined to diagnoses of depression, anxiety and post-traumatic stress disorder.

“He took my only reason to get up each day and my only reason to live,” she says, but that she “…decided he wouldn’t win any more … what he took from me that night I have now taken back. I have reclaimed my life,” she said.

Judge Marich accepted the victim’s evidence in finding Sergides guilty, and found there were inconsistencies between what Sergides told the woman’s friend in a phone call and his denials to police. She found he had no case to answer on two other charges.

Judge Marich acknowledged Sergides was a man of good prior behaviour and retained family support, had health problems and good rehabilitative prospects. He has already served two months.

Sergides must serve three and a half years before he is eligible for parole and is permanently banned by Victoria’s Health Complaints Commissioner from running general health services. 

Source: 9 News, The Age

Advertisement

Share:

KEEP UP TO DATE WITH TGH

By subscribing you accept our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy.

Advertisement

Latest News

Brisbane honours Greek Independence Day with grand celebration at Parliament House

The Greek community of Queensland came together in a night of pride, remembrance, and unity on the 204th anniversary of Greek Independence.

Sydney memorial service set to honour Cyprus War of Independence heroes

SEKA, the Cyprus Hellene Club Ltd and the Cyprus Community of NSW will host a Memorial Service to commemorate Cyprus National Day.

Melbourne’s Hellenic RSL marks Greek National Day with memorials and luncheon

The Hellenic Returned and Services League sub-branch in Melbourne marked Greek Independence Day with a number of commemorative services.

Greece keeps an eye on Greek Australian footballer Nectarios Triantis

The non-selection of Nektarios Triantis in the last two matches of the Australian National Team by Tony Popovic has opened the door.

Book launch on Greek innovator Nick Thyssen to be held in Sydney

'Nick Thyssen: The Story of a Great Innovator to Remember' will be presented at the Lecture Hall of the Greek Community of New South Wales.

You May Also Like

Greece steps up measures to stop illegal construction on Mykonos

The Greek government has announced it will beef up security and increase urban planning inspections on the island of Mykonos.

COVID-19 outbreaks would be worse off without lockdowns and the vaccine, NSW tells multicultural communities

NSW Minister for Multiculturalism Natalie Ward and NSW Health’s Dr Marianne Gale addressed multicultural media on Wednesday. 

Archbishop Makarios of Australia visits Mount Athos

Archbishop Makarios of Australia visited the Holy Monastery of Iviron on Mount Athos, on the feast day of the Dormition of the Theotokos.