Woman sexually assaulted by masseur at hotel spa in Cork who asked if she wanted ‘a surprise’

A woman having a massage at a hotel spa was asked by the masseur if she would like a surprise at the end of the session and was then sexually assaulted in a manner that caused her to jump from the table in absolute shock, a court has heard.

Judge Helen Boyle remanded 35-year-old Lenon De Souza Seara, of Granary Court, North Ring Rd, in custody at Cork Circuit Criminal Court for sentencing on May 21, stating that it required a custodial sentence.

Sergeant Brendan McBride testified that the 40-year-old woman went for a massage in a hotel spa in Cork, at the end of which the masseur asked her if she wanted a surprise, and her thought was that it was something to do with the massage, like extra oils or something of that nature. Sgt McBride said that what occurred was that the 35-year-old man licked her vagina. He later pleaded guilty to carrying out this sexual assault on July 4, 2024.

The woman said in a victim impact statement, which was read by Sgt McBride on her behalf: “I was flustered and vulnerable. For context, I was wearing disposable underpants, had a towel over my face, and my body was draped with a towel. So, effectively, I was otherwise completely naked. When the incident occurred, I immediately sprang up and took the face towel off, basically leaving me even more exposed. Shocked and repeating: ‘No no no’, I was naked and frazzled.

“I flip-flopped between speaking out on what occurred and just never mentioning it again. After all, I was physically unharmed. To speak up catapulted me into a process I didn’t intentionally sign up for.

“I had to arrive home and tell my husband that I had been taken advantage of. I had to witness his horror and concern.

“He [the defendant] said it was a misunderstanding. OK, so it was a misunderstanding. What does that mean to me? Is it somehow my fault? Did I not pick up on something earlier? Was he testing me all along?

“What was the motivation? How far was he going to go? How many times has he done this before? How did I not gauge it and stop it earlier? These questions I will never really know the answer to, but they are the ones that keep looping in my head.

“I feel so naive and stupid. How did I not know how to speak until it was too late? How far would it have gone?

“I feel like I can’t trust my own observations and missed the danger signs. That makes me question myself as a person. I feel bad for what he is going through and wonder how he is supporting himself after his loss of earnings. It also makes me mad that I feel responsible for that. I did nothing wrong. I was violated. I spoke up. I have to live with the unanswered questions.”

Defence barrister Elaine Audley said the defendant had shown insight and remorse and offered his abject apologies. She said he grew up in poverty in Brazil, where his brother was murdered and that as a child he was surrounded by sexualised behaviour and grew up to have difficulties with social interaction.

While the probation officer reported that he sought to minimise the blame, Ms Audley found that, from the beginning, his instructions were that he was guilty and he was the only person responsible. He lost his job and apologised to his former employer for what he did.