B.C. masseur pleads guilty to multiple sexual assaults

Scales of justice. (Shutterstock)

A masseur from B.C.'s Fraser Valley has pleaded guilty to six counts of sexual assault involving 12 victims, according to authorities.

"Some counts involve more than one complainant," B.C. Prosecution Service spokesperson Dan McLaughlin told CTV news in an email.

McLaughlin confirmed that the guilty plea was entered Tuesday and that Loewen was initially facing 24 charges.

In 2020, the Abbotsford Police Department announced that Reinhard "Bud" Loewen had been charged after three women reported that they were assaulted while receiving treatment at his business, Bud's Massage Therapy.

The College of Massage Therapists of British Columbia says Loewen has never been a registered member.

"The term 'masseur”' may have been used to refer to Mr. Loewen because the term 'massage therapist'– with or without 'registered' in front of it – is in fact a professional title legally reserved for use only by registrants of the college," a spokesperson wrote in an email.

"As such, it should not be used by or in relation to a non-registered individual such as Mr. Loewen."