A massage therapist from West London has been jailed for 11 years after sexually assaulting two clients. Mongkhon Thopwan, 54, from North End Road in West Kensington, was convicted of six offences following a six-day trial, after two of his clients reported the attacks to the police.
The court heard from two independent victims that Thopwan had on two separate occasions, seven months apart, abused his position of trust as a masseur by seriously sexually assaulting them. The first attack occurred on November 1, 2020 when a woman in her 20s attended the Thai massage parlour at Nine Lucksa in West Kensington for massage therapy.
Thopwan was arrested two days later and was bailed with strict conditions whilst detectives continued with their enquiries. At the time the premises were closed due to the pandemic.
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But the Met ensured that neither Thopwan’s therapist’s licence, nor the business licence for Thai Massage Nine Lucksa, were renewed. This was effective from December 1 the same year however a second victim, a woman in her 30s, was sexually assaulted on June 17, 2021 at the same location.
Thopwan was arrested the following day (June 18, 2021) and was charged with five counts of assault by penetration and one count of causing a person to engage in sexual activity without their consent.
The second victim, using the pseudonym Molly, has since said: “I considered keeping this serious assault a secret and staying silent because I really really could not bear the thought of ever repeating what happened. It felt too weird, humiliating and hideous. When I think now about the anger, sadness and anxiety that would have eaten at my soul had I not said something, that hurts.
“Running on adrenaline and complete panic I phoned my best friend and she persuaded me to phone the police, oh gosh am I glad I did, it was instantly ‘not my secret’. It was out there ‘away’ from me, ‘away’ from my heart, ‘away’ from my soul.
“And as a result I had a crazy supportive network holding me up and holding me tight. Within an hour of telling the police what happened this man was arrested and spent three months in jail before being bailed on strictest of conditions.”
No CCTV or forensic evidence was available and the case relied on the women’s evidence, detectives said. Detective Constable Natalie Witt, the investigating officer from the Met’s Specialist Crime Command, urges anyone who has been a victim of a similar attack to contact the police, saying: “I applaud the tremendous courage and bravery of these two women, as without their evidence we would not have been able to remove this sexual predator from our streets.”
They added: “Thopwan is an extremely dangerous offender who targeted these women when they were at their most vulnerable. Their crucial evidence led to his conviction and has ensured Thopwan cannot subject anyone else to such horrific attacks.”
If you need to report a crime, you can do so by contacting police on 101 or reporting online. Always call 999 in an emergency. To speak to The Haven call 020 3299 6900 – for more information visit their website.
To speak to London Survivors Gateway call 0808 801 0860 – for more information visit their website. If you have been a victim of sexual assault or rape or you have information about an offender, contact police on 101 or 999 in an emergency – there are specially trained officers who will listen and investigate where needed.
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