One of four women who allege a Montreal massage therapist sexually abused them testified at his criminal trial Thursday that her session with the accused at a spa in Old Montreal was almost entirely a sexual assault.
The fourth complainant to testify in the trial of Vitalie Moraru, 52, at the Montreal courthouse, told Quebec Court Judge Geneviève Graton she felt she was sexually assaulted roughly 50 minutes of the hour-long session in 2024.
While being cross-examined by defence lawyer Robert Bellefeuille on Thursday afternoon, the woman, whose identity is protected by a standard publication ban, said she went to the spa for a massage to fix a problem with her back she was experiencing while she worked. She said Moraru focused mainly on her buttocks throughout most of the massage.
Bellefeuille asked video footage be shown in court during the cross-examination. In the video, the woman is seen as she walked out of the session and greeted her partner, who was waiting at the reception desk of the spa located on a boat in Old Montreal.
“You were in a good mood. You were smiling (in the video), wouldn’t you say,” Bellefeuille asked.
“Absolutely not,” the woman replied.
She explained, at that point, she only knew her boyfriend for roughly three weeks and did not know how to deal with the awkward situation she found herself in.
“I was completely in a state of shock,” the woman said when the defence attorney had the video footage paused at a moment when a smile appeared on her face briefly.
She also agreed she filled out a form on an electronic tablet asking clients to rate their satisfaction with the massage and tipped Moraru $10.
She said she filled out the form and left the tip out of habit.
“It was $10 and I was out of there,” the woman said.
“What did you write under ‘would you recommend’ (on the form)” Bellefeuille asked.
“I wrote nothing,” the complainant said.
On Wednesday, at the start of the trial, a different complainant alleged Moraru massaged her breasts to treat her for a sore back at a location in Verdun. She told the court Moraru had successfully treated her back in the past, at a spa on Nuns’ Island, without having to touch her breasts.
Another woman filed a complaint alleging she was sexually assaulted by Moraru the same day he is alleged to have sexually assaulted the woman at the Verdun location.
Both of the women who allege they were sexually assaulted by Moraru on the same day in Verdun came forward with complaints after Dec. 5, 2024, when Montreal police issued a release stating Moraru had been charged with sexually assaulting two of his clients earlier that year and their investigators suspected there were more victims.
The Crown declared its evidence closed on Thursday.
Moraru is scheduled to present a defence next week.