Conditional sentence for masseur guilty of sexual assaults

Sexually assaulting four female clients won’t result in a jail term for a Calgary massage therapist.

Provincial court Judge Paul Mason on Wednesday accepted a joint submission from defence lawyer Greg Dunn and Crown prosecutor Tiffany Dwyer for a sentence that will see Greg Howden serve time under house arrest and probation.

Mason handed Howden a sixmonth conditional sentence, the first three months of which he will spend under house arrest at his mother’s Three Hills-area farm where he now lives, along with 18 months probation.

During the second half of the community-based period of custody, Howden, 38, must abide by a nightly curfew, the judge said, based on the recommendations of Dunn and Dwyer.

Howden pleaded guilty to four counts of sexual assault in connection with the incidents, in which four women say they were touched on their breasts or near their vaginal areas during massages. One woman believed the offender was sexually aroused during her treatment.

He was originally charged in July 2018 after a woman came forward saying she’d been touched at Massage Addict, at 4 Mahogany Row S.E.

Police later added additional charges after investigating incidents while Howden worked at Montgomery Chiropractic Plus, RNR Wellness The Spa and Beddington Chiropractic Clinic.

At one point, Howden faced 22 charges involving allegations of sexual assault, voyeurism and unlawful confinement.

All but two of the remaining charges in addition to the four sexual assaults he admitted Wednesday were dropped, with single charges of sexual assault and confinement still outstanding.

Outside court, Dunn declined to comment because of the remaining counts still pending.