WARNING: This story contains details of alleged sexual assault. Former Saskatoon massage therapist Kenneth Braun told a jury Friday that he never touched any of the four complainants for a sexual purpose. Braun, 70, is charged with three counts of sexual assault and one count of sexual exploitation of a young person while in a position of trust or authority. The allegations span from 1996 to 2022 while Braun practiced massage therapy out of his basement on Boychuk Drive, and later in his garage studio on Degeer Street. The women’s identities are protected by a publication ban. Braun took the stand Thursday as the defence’s only witness at the Court of King’s Bench in Saskatoon. Braun denies touching teen’s vagina Braun saw clients free of charge while studying at the Western College of Massage Therapy. One of those clients was a 17-year-old girl who took part in Braun’s thesis project on Raynaud syndrome — a condition that temporarily reduces blood flow to the fingers and toes, often in response to cold or stress. The woman, now 47, told the jury Tuesday that Braun removed her underwear and massaged her without a sheet covering her body. She testified that he inserted a finger into her vagina during another appointment. Braun denied touching her genitals. He said he was trying to release a tight muscle during the appointment she described. “Palpating where the muscle was, beside the spine, in-between the belly button and the pubic bone, going in with my fingers. It’s over top of the intestines — which can be very painful,” he testified. “Once I got in there, I noticed that she had started crying, and I released. I stopped doing the treatment.” Braun said he asked if she was OK but didn’t recall her response. He said he didn’t recall explaining the technique or asking her permission before using it. “My intention is never to hurt or harm anybody. They’re there to get help — even if they’re a student and they don’t like some of the techniques — I still have to learn how to do them, but it’s very upsetting to me to find out that I’ve hurt somebody or disappointed them,” Braun testified. Crown questions Braun about how he used a sheet during massages Braun testified that he would pull down clients’ underwear when massaging their glutes. “Do you ever visually see the anus or vaginal area of the people that you’re massaging?” Braun’s lawyer asked. “No,” Braun responded. Braun said he would hold up a sheet and look away while clients turned over. Braun told his lawyer he would hold up a sheet and look away while clients turned over. Under cross-examination, he said he would maintain eye contact to make sure they had flipped. Braun says he assumed returning clients consented Senior Crown prosecutor Lana Morelli asked Braun why he didn’t check with clients before moving to another part of their body. “How would you know what the client was consenting to?” Morelli asked. “Because they came in for a massage,” Braun responded. “Consent is communicated right?” Morelli asked. “I assumed if they’re willing to keep coming for treatments, then that’s consent,” Braun answered.
