Jason Francis Tardif, 53, had denied the charge, along with an alternative of indecent exposure.
Judge Gary Perry said that while he was sure that the defendant had exposed himself to a young woman as she gave him a massage, the law was not as straightforward as it might seem.
He did not believe that Tardif had done so to cause 'alarm or distress' to the woman, as per the charge, but found his actions had been sexually motivated, hence his guilty verdict on the alternative charge.
‘Sadly this is yet another case of a middle-aged man somehow believing that a very young woman might find him attractive,’ he said.
The incident happened on 28 June last year. On his arrest in August Tardif told police that the woman had lied – something he repeated giving evidence in court. But Judge Perry rejected the claim entirely.
He said he had found the complainant to be an honest and compelling witness who had been ‘determined to tell the truth’.
‘I accepted her account in its entirety,’ he said.
Despite having to give evidence in such distressing circumstances, she had maintained composure throughout.
The court heard how Tardif had booked a full-body massage to help alleviate pain from his shoulders and legs.
In the consulting room, the woman asked him to strip to his underwear. He said he was not wearing boxer shorts. The woman said this was not uncommon so she told him he would have to cover himself with a towel.
During the session he made inappropriate comments laced with innuendo, which the judge said was all part of his sexual behaviour on the day. At one point he had wafted the towel, which the woman said had exposed his penis to her for a few seconds.
Judge Perry said the woman was a confident and professional young lady, and she completed the session. The woman told her boss what had happened after. Later that day her boss telephoned Tardif to challenge him.
The manager told the court of the contents of the conversation, which the prosecution said amounted to admissions on Tardif’s behalf. Judge Perry said that while he had no doubt that she had been doing her best to give a truthful account of that conversation, no contemporaneous notes had been made and she not given her statement to police until some four to six weeks later, which gave him cause for concern so this was excluded from his deliberation.
He rejected the prosecution’s contention that the offending had been premeditated, but found that it had been opportunistic and possibly decided on at the last minute.
Sentencing was deferred as Tardif is bailed to appear in court towards the end of April in connection to another matter.
He was bailed conditionally in the interim.
