Jury Sentences Woodlands Massage Therapist To 18 Years In Prison

CONROE, TEXAS — A former Woodlands massage therapist was sentenced to 18 years behind bars for asexually assaulting a female client last year. Mario Rubio, 28, was employed at Massage Heights when he was accused of sexually assaulting a 49-year-old woman in September 2017.

According to court documents, Rubio, who’d only been a licensed massage therapist since March 2017, allegedly touched the woman’s breasts, buttocks and sex organs, to the point of putting his fingers inside her vaginal area during a massage session on Sept. 7, 2017.

The woman, who was a regular customer, immediately stopped the session when she realized what he was doing and called police. Montgomery County Sheriff’s deputies said the woman was distraught when they spoke with her about the incident.

Police spoke with Rubio, who claimed that nothing out of the ordinary had occurred during the massage session

During their investigation, deputies learned that another customer had made a similar complaint against Rubio in July 2017, and claimed he'd exposed her more than other massage therapists and touched her genitals at the end of the massage session.

However, that incident was not reported to police, and was handled internally.

During the trial, jurors learned that Rubio had an extensive criminal history for crimes such as burglary of a motor vehicle, evading arrest, criminal trespass, and aggravated robbery with a deadly weapon.

“It’s no small feat to testify in front of a jury of strangers and detail such an intimate violation,” Montgomery County Assistant District Attorney Lisa Stewart said after the trial.

Rubio will be required to register as a sex offender for the rest of his life.

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Image: MCSO

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