NEW DELHI: An Australian court sentenced an unqualified Indian-origin massage therapist in Adelaide to 13 years and 10 months in jail for sexually abusing 61 women over nine months, constituting 97 charges of “aggravated indecent assault” and “secretly filming” the survivors.
Judge Carmen Matteo of the District Court of South Australia held Sumit Rastogi, 39, guilty of “offending conduct” from Oct 2021 until his arrest in July 2022, and said he showed no remorse.
Masseur unrepentant, says a survivor; another one urges others to speak out
Sentencing him after a three-hour hearing last Friday, the judge said Rastogi “violated women who were trusting, unsuspecting and entitled to safety” when they sought his services. “You abused their trust and treated them with an utter lack of respect and dignity when you touched them sexually and/or took images to capture parts of their body,” she said.
“Every invasive image you took involved a gross breach of trust… When you couple that conduct with physical sexual interference, your conduct took on another level of depravity and insult to your victims.” Matteo said she found it “somewhat remarkable” that Rastogi had been able to provide massage services at the parlour in Glenelg, on the western suburbs of Adelaide, without any professional qualification.
ABC News reported that the court heard how a psychiatrist had diagnosed Rastogi with voyeuristic disorder, which was a “clinically plausible explanation” for his conduct, albeit not one that could absolve him. “There is no suggestion that you were unable to control your conduct or that you did not know the wrongfulness of it,” Matteo said.
Outside the court, one of the survivors was quoted as saying she was “happy” with the sentence and that other survivors of sexual assault should come forward. “No one spoke out sooner, everyone knew it felt wrong and we all left just thinking that was a bit strange, but no one actually said anything,” the woman said. “If it doesn’t feel right, it means it’s not right.” Another survivor said she did not believe Rastogi was repentant. “I read his letter, and it was all just excuses.” Rastogi was given a non-parole period of 10 years and 10 months. The sentence was backdated to when he was taken into custody, making him eligible for parole in 2035. The court was informed that he is likely to be deported.
