Spa boss cleared of sexual assault on client condemns ‘travesty’
A HEALTH spa owner acquitted of sexually assaulting a customer by giving him an unwanted massage has denounced her ordeal as a “travesty”.
Kerry Brocklebank, 43, was alleged to have repeatedly rubbed the man’s thighs, despite his protestations, at Huntingdon Spa and UK Sports Massage, Cambs, on Oct 11 last year.
While admitting to being “tipsy” at the time, she denied the charge, insisting that she only touched the man’s calf muscles, which were not an “erogenous sexual zone”.
Following a trial at Cambridge Crown Court, Ms Brocklebank was cleared of sexual assault, an alternative charge of battery, and perverting the course of justice.
A statement issued on her behalf said: “Kerry, her family and friends are satisfied with the verdict today, not guilty on all charges. This has obviously been a distressing time when allegations have been made that have had an extremely negative impact on Kerry’s business reputation and income, which is a travesty.”
Ms Brocklebank hugged relatives in relief as she left the courtroom.
During evidence, the qualified sports therapist said her life had been wrecked by the allegations and she had been left suicidal. Prosecutor Stephen Mather had alleged that she touched the man for sexual gratification, which she denied.
She said she had earlier flirted with the keen runner and called him “darling” but that there was no attraction. The trial heard Ms Brocklebank had drunk a glass of prosecco and two flutes of champagne while celebrating a friend’s birthday. Expecting to find the sports massage room empty, she went in search of dry towels while dressed in a “quite boring, conservative” polka dot swimming costume.
She claimed the man’s allegation had been a ruse to get compensation.
Defending the decision to bring the case to court, a spokesman for the Crown Prosecution Service said: “The function of the CPS is not to decide whether a person is guilty of a criminal offence but to make fair, independent and objective assessments about whether it is appropriate to present charges for a jury to consider and we respect their decision.”