Donlevy’s sexual assaults were ‘opportunistic’: lawyer
A former registered massage therapist who sexually assaulted six female clients will be sentenced on Monday after the defence argued Mark Mcmahon Donlevy should receive a prison term of two to three years.
Defence lawyer Alan Mcintyre made his sentencing submissions on Wednesday in Saskatoon Court of Queen’s Bench, calling the Crown’s proposed sentence of six and a half years “excessive.”
Donlevy, now 51, pleaded guilty this summer to six counts of sexual assault stemming from when he was a massage therapy student in 2009 to when he was a licensed practitioner in 2016.
During the Crown’s submissions on Sept. 30, court heard Donlevy groped and digitally penetrated six women while performing treatments. Many of the women suffered from chronic pain and sought out Donlevy, who touted himself as a pain alleviation specialist.
Mcintyre argued the offences involved “fleeting touches” and are on the lower end of the sexual assault spectrum.
He also said most of Donlevy’s assaults were “opportunistic” and unlikely to recur.
On Wednesday morning, the defence called a psychologist to testify about his diagnoses and treatment of Donlevy. Dr. D’arcy Helmer said Donlevy has post-traumatic stress disorder, anxiety, depression, sex and alcohol addiction, insomnia and possible brain damage from mefloquine, an anti-malarial drug used in the military.
Donlevy developed a sex addiction as a coping mechanism for his psychological issues, Mcintyre said. He conceded that massage therapy was the worst profession Donlevy could have gone into.
Justice Brian Scherman said it could be inferred that Donlevy pursued this career to feed his addiction. He also said Mcintyre’s argument that these were mostly “one off” incidents doesn’t jive with the evidence that Donlevy would sometimes offer his victims followup massages.
A married man who has brought shame on his prominent Saskatoon family, Donlevy will continue to suffer from the case’s notoriety, Mcintyre told court. He said his client was motivated by excitement and sexual gratification, but is “remorseful and repentant” and accepts responsibility for his crimes.
Mcintyre also said Donlevy plans to donate $6,000 to the Saskatoon Sexual Assault and Information Centre — $1,000 for each of his victims.
In their victim impact statements, the women described Donlevy as a “coward” who made them fear men in professional positions. Many women said they didn’t think anyone would believe them until they learned Donlevy had been charged with other assaults.
Two women came forward in 2016 and reported Donlevy had sexually assaulted them during separate appointments in 2013 and 2016. Ten more women contacted police after the charges were announced.
The registered massage therapist was charged with a total of 12 counts of sexual assault against 12 different women, but the Crown agreed to stay half the charges at the conclusion of sentencing.
The Crown wants Donlevy to serve his sentence in addition to the three-year sentence he is currently serving for date-raping a woman in 2004. Donlevy has appealed his conviction.
Mcintyre asked Scherman to adopt Helmer’s recommendation that Donlevy serve his sentence at Saskatoon’s Regional Psychiatric Centre. The stress of a penitentiary could prohibit Donlevy’s capacity for rehabilitation, and RPC would allow him access to several medications and continued neurotherapy, which has been helping, Helmer told court.