A MOTHER who was sexually assaulted by an Albury masseur has welcomed a three-year jail term given to him following attacks on vulnerable women.
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The victim, one of 14 targeted by Xiawen Shen, was pinned down during a sex assault at the Balance Chinese Massage in the Myer centre.
The 43-year-old cried in Albury Local Court as magistrate David Degnan said jail was the only appropriate punishment, despite Shen’s lawyer arguing for a suspended sentence or home detention.
“I’m traumatised,” the victim said outside court.
“But I had to do it, I had to stare at him and let him know he wasn’t going to get away with it. I feel really satisfied with the outcome.
“I think the magistrate saw the seriousness of it all and wanted to put the message out there that this community is not going to tolerate this repeat offending.”
The Albury woman thanked the victim who initially came forward, with her complaint leading to the 13 other victims contacting police.
Shen groped the victims’ genitals, pushed his penis into their bodies, and in one case exposed and rubbed a woman’s vagina in front of her young son.
The offending took place over a 11-month period starting early 2016, with the magistrate noting the 46-year-old had asked the fourth victim not to make a complaint.
“(There’s a) clear indication he knew what he was doing was inappropriate, he knew what he was doing could cause a complaint against him, but he continued on with offending against a further 10 victims,” Mr Degnan said.
“I find that he continued to offend, because quite frankly, he was getting away with it.”
Shen’s wife provided a court reference but the magistrate gave it little weight as she appeared not to know the extent of the charges.
Mr Degnan said many of the “defiled” victims were still in counselling.
“It’s quite clear from the victim impact statements I read and were tendered, the grave effect such crimes have on the victim,” he said.
Mr Degnan said Shen was in a position of power and had taken advantage of women who were in a physically vulnerable position.
Most incidents took place at the Royal Hands Chinese Massage at West End Plaza.
Despite claims most of the incidents were “fleeing”, Director of Public Prosecutions representative Aaron Thomas noted one had involved Shen touching a woman’s vagina for five minutes while her child was present, and another had involved him touching a woman four or five times.
The 43-year-old victim said she wanted to organise a march against violence on the Border.
She had initially struggled with the idea of reporting Shen for his assault but is thankful she did so.
She was having heart palpitations, her teeth were chattering and she was crying uncontrollably while heading into court.
“Very happy I did it,” she said.
“I’d advise everybody to do it.”
Her husband was also happy with the outcome of the hearing, which will see Shen stuck behind bars until at least July 26, 2020.
“I’d say for the husbands and especially the victims, it’s good to know they’re not alone,” he said.
The victims and their partners supported each other after the court hearing finished.
Shen, who is originally from China, did not speak in court or look at the victims, and instead stared at the floor before being led out.