Second reality TV star accuses masseur of inappropriately touching her after using his business as a 'cover' to hide predatory intentions, court hears

A second reality TV star today accused a massage therapist of inappropriately touching her after using his business as a “cover” to hide his predatory intentions.

Marcelo Oliveira, 45, is on trial accused of sexually abusing ten female clients – including two reality TV stars – over a period of almost two years while giving them massages.

He denies 22 counts of sexual assault and six other serious sexual offenses.

A television star, who cannot be named for legal reasons, told Birmingham Crown Court that Oliveira pulled down her underwear and massaged her bottom during a 2021 appointment.

The woman claimed there was no apparent reason why the masseur had to pull down her underwear and he left her completely exposed for about half an hour.

She claimed that shortly before the end of the appointment, Oliveira pressed himself against her in a sexual manner while performing another type of massage.

During the woman's testimony last week, Oliveira was also accused of showing her “many” nude photos of other female clients, including “at least three celebrities.”

The woman is the second celebrity to testify at the trial after another television star told the court last week she was “petrified” when Oliveira allegedly groped her during a 2019 appointment.

During the woman's testimony last week, Oliveira was also accused of showing her “many” nude photos of other female clients, including “at least three celebrities.”

The court was shown a filmed police interview with the second reality star, a woman in her thirties.

She said she first contacted Oliveira after undergoing liposuction to book some massages as part of the recovery process.

Oliveira was accompanied by a colleague during the first four sessions, she says, but during the fifth session he was alone – and this time he pulled down her underwear.

The woman told police officers: “I felt really, really uncomfortable.”

“He massaged my butt for about four seconds and then moved on to my legs, but left my panties down the whole time, for about half an hour.”

She added: “It was one of those things where you think, 'I don't think anyone other than my mom should touch me like that.' He had no reason to touch my butt.

“I was almost naked for no reason. I didn't even have to be naked for the actual operation.”

She said that when she told her friend about the alleged ordeal after the appointment, she asked her if she was sure it wasn't part of the massage.

“I thought, 'This is the best cover to hide what you're doing,' but I knew it wasn't right,” she said.

The woman said she didn't say anything at first because she didn't know it was a form of sexual assault and mistakenly believed it was her “responsibility” to tell Oliveira to stop.

But when she saw that other women were also accusing the masseur, she felt encouraged to talk about her own experience, she says.

During cross-examination, Paul Williams, representing Oliveira, asked the woman whether she had been in talks with a production company to appear in a documentary “about the case.”

“It was mentioned,” she replied.

“Did you know that they had contacted the police to ask if they would like to participate?” asked Mr Williams.

“Yes,” she said.

“Is this part of your self-promotion and profile promotion?” asked the lawyer.

“No,” she said.

The woman later added that she believed her appearance in a documentary might in the future “encourage one single person to come forward who believed the responsibility lay with him.”

The process continues.