A woman who went to see Maitland masseur Merv Fullford to treat pain she was having after a pregnancy claimed she was asked if she "masturbated" before he allegedly began rubbing an area above her vagina, a jury has heard.
Mr Fullford, now 65, a well-known Maitland remedial massage therapist, has pleaded not guilty to 28 charges of sexual touching and indecent assault relating to 14 clients between 2015 and 2020 and is currently facing an estimated four-week trial in Sydney's Downing Centre District Court.
The jury has spent the first week hearing from a number of women who claim they were touched inappropriately during appointments at Mr Fullford massage therapy business, which was run out of a room in his Maitland home.
One woman gave evidence that she went to see Mr Fullford in 2019 after suffering pain as a result of her pregnancy.
She told the jury the first thing Mr Fullford asked was whether she had ever been sexually assaulted.
She said there was no explanation given about why he needed that information and she didn't ask.
The woman said she explained her physical issues and said Mr Fullford "was very professional in explaining how he could perform massage and help me with those things".
She said she thought she was wearing just a bra and undies and was underneath a sheet while Mr Fullford massaged her neck and shoulders.
Mr Fullford asked about breastfeeding and suggested "soaping up my chest and massaging my breasts in the shower would be a good way to relieve discomfort", the woman said in her evidence.
The woman said Mr Fullford then massaged her groin area and asked whether she masturbated.
"He said: "You need to be really careful if you decide to masturbate because what I've done to that part of your body is really gonna heighten what could take place"," the woman claimed Mr Fullford told her.
"Then what happened next is that he said: "I'm not supposed to do this". "I don't recall the next part of the conversation, but that is what stands out for me. "But he then placed his hand on the mound of my vagina just on top of my underwear and proceeded to move that part back and forth and said "this is the muscle that would cause the heightened sensation, this is the muscle that you need to be careful of if you decide to masturbate"."
Earlier in the trial, the jury heard from a woman who said she went to see Mr Fullford for a massage to treat back pain when she was a 12-year-old sportsperson in 2015.
That alleged victim claims Mr Fullford was talking to her about the bones in the back while he "stroked" her inner thigh and then put his hands down her underpants and onto her vagina.
Crown prosecutor Sara Gul asked that alleged victim if there was any massage that happened during the appointment with Mr Fullford.
"No, I don't even remember him looking at my back," the alleged victim replied. "I was lying on my back and I don't remember him looking at my back. "He didn't massage my back, he did nothing to my back."
The trial, before Judge Gina O'Rourke, continues.
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