A sports masseur who groped the breasts of his female clients and touched their genitals during treatments has been jailed for the second time.
Steven Goss, 54, performed thousands of massages during the six years he ran his business Relaxing Times in Durham, and was sentenced to 21 months in prison in August 2020 for sexually assaulting four women.
Since then, more vulnerable victims came forward with horrifying stories of abuse and the Royal Navy veteran was put in front of a judge again.
A court heard how women responded to his Facebook adverts to book one of his ‘holistic and beauty therapies’.
Upon arrival at the salon, Goss would tell them to strip fully naked and lock the massage room when his wife was not there.
Some of the women refused and wore underwear, but others were covered only by towels over their private areas.
Alex Burns, prosecuting, said the offences were very similar to the previous case, with the victims describing how Goss would brush his hand over their genitals in a ‘whip-like motion’.
The women were left feeling uncomfortable and shocked but many feared being accused of lying.
Others were embarrassed by the assault and decided not to say anything at the time.
Mr Burns added: ‘All the victims put themselves in a vulnerable position, removing their clothes, hoping to have a massage, and nothing else.’
Goss, who was released on licence from his sentence in June last year, initially denied all seven new counts of sexual assault at his plea hearing. But he later changed his plea to guilty.
Judge James Adkin said Goss could have had a ‘clean slate’ if he confessed to all offences in 2020 but he chose not to, thinking he ‘got away with it’.
Goss, of Mount Pleasant, Stanley, was sentenced to four years in prison.
A lifelong sexual harm prevention order was also made, as well as a lifelong restraining order.
