45-year-old masseur sexually harassed former reality TV star, court says

A masseur sexually harassed a former reality TV star by touching her between the legs after showing her nude photos of his other celebrity clients, a court heard.

Marcelo Oliveira is accused of using his successful business “as a cover” to sexually assault ten female clients while giving them massages.

The 45-year-old from St. Albans in Hertfordshire denies 22 charges of sexual assault and six other serious sexual offences and is now appearing before Birmingham Crown Court.

Yesterday, a TV star, who cannot be named for legal reasons, said she was “scared to death” when Oliveira groped her after she invited him to her home.

The woman, in her 40s, also said he “rubbed” his penis on her glans and “breathed in a sexual manner” during the alleged attack.

In her testimony, she described that Oliveria was recommended for lymphatic drainage massages to aid her recovery after cosmetic surgery.

When asked about the cost of the sessions, she said it was agreed that he would give the massage for free and she would then promote him on Instagram.

She said Oliveria, who describes himself as a beauty technician and has practices in Leeds, Liverpool, Birmingham and London, initially came to her home before the operation while her husband was there.

When asked about her first impression of him, she said, “I was surprised at how big he was. He brought a massage table and I provided the towels. He had an iPad and played relaxing music and also some cream gel. It was in the living room.

“He was very talkative. He told me that he was married, had two children and was a really good cook.”

The alleged victim told the court that she could not remember whether she had completely undressed and whether Oliveira had massaged her stomach.

The woman stated that the defendant also took pictures of her with his iPad and told her he did so to have before and after photos.

She added: “He also showed me a lot of pictures of other women. There were other reality TV contestants, at least three were celebrities. There were nude pictures.”

She said some had undergone a “Brazilian Bum Lift” and she could see bruising.

She added: “I wanted to see what could be achieved, but it was really unprofessional.”

She arranged for Oliveira to visit her home again in June 2019, but did not know what the massage technique consisted of.

She said that this time her husband was not at home, which Oliveira was aware of, and that she performed the same procedure, lying naked on the massage table.

She told the jury: “I was lying face down and the massage started.”

Prosecutor Antonie Muller asked her: “Did he massage a part of your body that he had never massaged before?”

The masseur denies 22 counts of sexual assault and six other serious sexual offences and is now facing Birmingham Crown Court

The woman said, “Yes, he started massaging my inner thighs at the very top. I asked him why he was touching my thighs and he told me there were lymph nodes there.”

Mr. Müller said: “Were you satisfied with this explanation?”

She denied it and went on to say how he sexually abused her by touching her vagina before coming to the top of the bed and massaging her back.which he had never done before.

When asked how long it took, she said, “I couldn't give a time frame, but it felt like an eternity.”

Mr Muller asked her if she had said anything to Oliveira and she replied: “I was petrified. I didn't know if it could get any worse. There was nothing I could do about it.”

She said she also became aware of his “sexual” breathing and the massage of her back was “not normal.”

She added that he pressed his penis against her glans and “rubbed” it. “Everything just stopped. It felt like it had been going on for a really long time,” she explained.

The woman said Oliveira's penis was inside his clothing and the session ended when an alarm went off on the defendant's iPad.

She said Oliveira asked her if she was OK because she seemed “a little unsure.”

The woman said she then called her sister and her husband and told them she had been sexually assaulted and blocked the defendant on Instagram.

The woman explained in court that she did not go to the police at first because she “did not think that they would believe me, because then I would have been faced with one person's word against another's.”

Oliveira is said to have committed the attacks between March 2019 and July 2021.

At the start of the trial, Mr Muller said the case was only about Oliveira.Under the pretext of a massage, he sexually abused these ten women and penetrated them by touching them with his penis as well as between their legs and on their breasts.

When questioned, Oliveira said he performed lymphatic drainage massages, which involve moving fluids through the body for a cosmetic effect, and denied touching the women in a sexual manner.

The process continues.