Jury finds former massage therapist guilty on sex charges

A jury determined late Wednesday that a former Salem-area massage therapist is guilty of third-degree sex abuse and invasion of personal privacy in a case in which multiple women accused him of inappropriate touching during professional massages.

Twenty-three-year-old Bryce Cioffi was convicted of two counts of sex abuse in the third degree and two counts of invasion of personal privacy. The jury found him not guilty of six other similar charges brought against him by the state.

Tensions ran high as the defendant took the stand Wednesday.

"What I'm saying today is that my massages were strictly therapeutic," said Cioffi, who maintained that he was not guilty of the 10 counts throughout his testimony."There were never any sexual intentions."

The now former massage therapist was arrested in February after a woman reported his conduct to the Marion County Sheriff's Office. The reported conduct included kissing that woman on the mouth. Cioffi surrendered his state-issued license to the Oregon Board of Massage Therapists, but police were concerned there were other victims.

After the Statesman Journal and other media reported the initial arrest, six other women approached authorities with similar allegations. All seven women testified against Cioffi during the two day trial.

"This is a case of a bad massage therapist," said Cioffi's defense attorney, Lee Griffith. "But this is not sex abuse."

While on the stand, Deputy District Attorney Tobias Tingleaf repeatedly asked Cioffi about specific actions and various clients, and many of Cioffi's answers were a version of "I don't recall."

In closing statements Tingleaf described Cioffi as a sexual predator who put himself in a position to have power over women.

"He made women question themselves," said Tingleaf. "You can either believe the seven women who came in to tell their stories, who have nothing to lose, or you can choose to believe the defendant who has everything to lose."

According to Tingleaf, the first woman to come forward with information, the woman that Cioffi allegedly kissed during a massage, was referred to by Cioffi as "spiteful" in a statement to investigators.

After the kiss, both attorneys said, Cioffi called the woman to apologize.

"I've been remorseful from the beginning," said Cioffi.

During the trial, Cioffi was asked several questions about his education in massage therapy, as well as his techniques.

Cioffi pointed to his pectoral muscles and other muscle groups, demonstrating different techniques and explained that massage therapists work muscles from their point of origin to insertion. According to Cioffi, it's impossible to rub pectoral muscles without coming into contact with breast tissue.

Throughout the trial Cioffi was accused of "jiggling" certain body parts, as well as blowing air from his mouth onto clients' skin, and lifting up the sheet which was covering his clients to look at their naked bodies. He was also accused of touching multiple women's breasts and pelvic areas. Cioffi denied all allegations besides the kiss.

"I'm not going to massage someone without knowing what they want," said Cioffi. "Otherwise I'd be up here (on the stand) every week."

After nearly two hours of closing statements from Tingleaf and Griffith, the decision of whether or not Cioffi is guilty of these alleged crimes was in the hands of the jury.

Circuit Court Judge Pellegrini read the verdict decided by six jurors around 8 p.m. Wednesday. Cioffi's sentencing was set over to 9:15 a.m. Dec. 10. He was not taken into custody based on the state's request that his release agreement remain in effect until his sentencing hearing.

Reporter Joce DeWitt contributed to this report.

Email aroemeling@statesmanjournal.com, call (503) 399 6884, or follow on Twitter @alisharoemeling