Physio hit with ban
A MAREEBA physiotherapist jailed for secretly filming several of his female patients, including children, will be allowed to begin practising again in less than four years.
But Joey Trotta, who previously owned That’s My Physio until being charged in 2015, will never be able to treat women, or males under 18, again.
The 38-year-old had to serve six months of a twoand-a-half year jail sentence after being found guilty of 14 charges, including 11 charges of filming female clients – one as young as eight.
The court heard at the time he used the videos as stress relief.
He had also made three upskirt films while on the Gold Coast.
Following a hearing in the Queensland Civil Administrative Tribunal this month, Judge John Allen ruled Trotta behaved in a way that constitutes “professional misconduct” and disqualified him from applying for registration as a registered health practitioner for three years and four months.
“(Trotta) is permanently prohibited from providing any health service in a clinical or non-clinical capacity (paid or otherwise) to any female persons and to any male persons under the age of 18 years,” he also ruled.
Judge Allen said Trotta made the recordings for his own “sexual gratification”.
He said he was no longer registered as a physio or practising as a health practitioner.
His behaviour came to light when an 18-year-old patient saw his mobile phone propped up in a “suspicious position” against his computer and confirmed it had been recording her for up to 15 minutes.
She reported the incident to police who later identified multiple recordings on the phone, which had been made between 2009 and 2015.
Just prior to him being charged, That’s My Physio was named Business of the Year by the Mareeba Chamber of Commerce.
In the findings Judge Allen said Trotta had been on an interim prohibition ban since late 2015 preventing him from treating any women or any patient under 18.
The Health Ombudsman pushed for a permanent ban for treating minors because he could potentially gain work as a massage therapist, which is an unregulated profession with no oversight for fitness to practise.