Ragdale Hall therapist jailed for six years

[The Hat]

A therapist from Ragdale Hall in Leicestershire, who groped female clients while carrying out massages, has been jailed for six years. Batini Mpofu, who took advantage of women during their treatments at the spa between 2007-2008, was also given a Sexual Offences Prevention Order to stop him from working as a professional therapist in future.

In a statement Ragdale Hall said: "Batini Mpofu abused the trust placed in him. We extend our sincere sympathy to those affected and deeply regret this abuse of trust.

"In September 2008, following a second, more detailed complaint, the police were called and Mpofu was dismissed. Then two further complaints against Mpofu came to the management's attention, which we reported to the police.

"Mpofu's conduct was both shocking and unprecedented. Over our 36-year history, our highly trained therapists have undertaken over four million treatments leading guests to regularly vote us as one of the UK's premier spas. We wish to assure everyone that Ragdale Hall's management and dedicated staff continue to strive hard to maintain the highest of industry standards and levels of service that our guests have come to expect."

 

[donna123]

All i can say is would this happen to a woman!! no....no....many woman get away with sexual activities with clients.
i just think 6 years is a bit steep....i dont like what he has done but give the man a res,t 6 years and his job taken away think hes got his punishment.....now however how many female therapists are doing this and getting away with it i wonder....

 

[angel fingers]

if there was no consent, this was not sexual activity, it was a sexual offence.
6 yr jail sentences are not handed out for nothing.

 

[BABSann]

All i can say is would this happen to a woman!! no....no....many woman get away with sexual activities with clients.
i just think 6 years is a bit steep....i dont like what he has done but give the man a res,t 6 years and his job taken away think hes got his punishment.....now however how many female therapists are doing this and getting away with it i wonder....

This therapist be it man or women sexually assaulted trusting clients.If this had been your mother or daughter would you feel the same way?If this was you would you feel the same way? I seriously think not.He doesn't deserve a 'rest', as you put it.I could never imagine abusing a client?I dont think many people could,it's really not about sexuality of the therapist.

I would imagine if it were a female abusing clients they would get EXACTLY the same punishment and rightly so.These idiots should be totally banned from ever working with people again,what if the client had been alone in a building with this so called therapist?I hope he never has a job working alone with clients of any nature again.Imagine if it were in a nursing home :Scared:

As for the comment about many women getting away with sexual activities with clients I would suggest this be consensual, and of a totally different nature.The whole thing is disgraceful.I feel sorry for the families concerned and people he assaulted.

 

[Zo Zo]

All i can say is would this happen to a woman!! no....no....many woman get away with sexual activities with clients.
i just think 6 years is a bit steep....i dont like what he has done but give the man a res,t 6 years and his job taken away think hes got his punishment.....now however how many female therapists are doing this and getting away with it i wonder....

Unless you are privy to the finer detail of what he actually did, I don't think you can say 6 years is a bit steep....

 

[bombini]

All i can say is would this happen to a woman!! no....no....many woman get away with sexual activities with clients.
i just think 6 years is a bit steep....i dont like what he has done but give the man a res,t 6 years and his job taken away think hes got his punishment.....now however how many female therapists are doing this and getting away with it i wonder....

We don't actually know in detail what he did but it was enough to land him with a 6 year stint so my guess it was pretty bad. At the end of the day if you are a qualified therapist you would know your job is to do the treatment not grope your clients !!!

I would like to know what you mean by 'many women get away with sexual activities with clients' how would you know this ? why hasn't it been reported ? Or do you mean female therapists having, shall we say liasons with male clients ? For example female therapist massages male client, he asks her out on a date. If thats along the lines of what you mean then thats nothing like sexual assault !!!

 

[persianista]

There must be more to it than whats in the paper. A 6 year sentence would be very harsh for a bit of a grope. So I think it must have been serious stuff.

 

[kimi1101]

I agree. Death by dangerous driving can sometimes get a lesser sentence than 6 years!!! Must have been very very serious, or he had previous convictions of a similar nature.

 

[Susie H]

All i can say is would this happen to a woman!! no....no....many woman get away with sexual activities with clients.
i just think 6 years is a bit steep....i dont like what he has done but give the man a res,t 6 years and his job taken away think hes got his punishment.....now however how many female therapists are doing this and getting away with it i wonder....

Are you for real?
You really don't understand women do you? You can't do to come out with c**p like that.
For your information us mothers raise our daughters not to touch, not to look, and guess what, it sticks with us through out our lives. Contary to what you see on the t.v. most women have to know a guy pretty well before they get to the touching stage.
So no, most of us are not waiting to have a quick grop at some random blokes private bits, and if we were to see them, let alone touch them we would be mortified. No I'm not a prude, I just respect people and want them to respect me and I find your comments to be inflamatory with out point or direction.

 

[catsaremad]

All i can say is would this happen to a woman!! no....no....many woman get away with sexual activities with clients.
i just think 6 years is a bit steep....i dont like what he has done but give the man a res,t 6 years and his job taken away think hes got his punishment.....now however how many female therapists are doing this and getting away with it i wonder....

mmm well I can see why this statement has been 'inflamatory'

Lets face it, if you go to a professional spa like Ragdale its probably because you have got it as a treat, a present, some where to while a way the hours gossiping with your friends whilst being pampered.

You may even have thought to yourself 'god I hope I get a fit masseur who looks like an adonis takes one look at me and whisks me off for incredible mind blowing sex in the jacuzzi'...............................

then you look in the mirror and realise that you have more lumps and bumps than a road in wolverhampton and just hope its someone either fatter than you or with a massive spot on the end of their noses, who can actually give good massages !!!

what three paying clients and a work collegue got according to the reports is to be touched, sexually/inappropriately by a man that they did not know and who they themselves had not solicited for sexual advances.

This is the difference, these ladies did not ask or want the advances, this man abused his position of trust.The ladies were vunerable and they more than likely thought ' christ has that just happened ' !!!

You read on Geek all the time about us therapist who come on and say oooooh this has happened but I never said anything, and we all cry why not and the answer is invariably because I did not know what to do, who would beleive me !!!!! Why is this so different for the client ??????????????

So yes 6 years, I think he got what he deserved, thank god it never escalated...............................

As for female therapist offering a sexual service, well Im sure that that probably goes on....................

As well as it does for that fit adonis .....................

But if they choose to do that then I expect that they will be 'paid' for their services..........................


and whilst I am on if it was a child what would you say then ..................

 

[Martin Duffy]

There's a little more detail about what the women said he did on this site:

City Journalist Directory - Batini Mpofu Sexual Assault Ragdale Hall Spa Melton

I've worked in a salon where a therapist similarly abused trust placed in them with a female receptionist during a sports massage; when you're a vulnerable client in a state of undress, in isolation within a room with a shut door, whilst a clothed therapist towers over you, this is a particularly frightening state to be in when the trust placed in the therapist is abused.

 

[BABSann]

Are you for real?
You really don't understand women do you? You can't do to come out with c**p like that.
For your information us mothers raise our daughters not to touch, not to look, and guess what, it sticks with us through out our lives. Contary to what you see on the t.v. most women have to know a guy pretty well before they get to the touching stage.
So no, most of us are not waiting to have a quick grop at some random blokes private bits, and if we were to see them, let alone touch them we would be mortified. No I'm not a prude, I just respect people and want them to respect me and I find your comments to be inflamatory with out point or direction.

There's a little more detail about what the women said he did on this site:

City Journalist Directory - Batini Mpofu Sexual Assault Ragdale Hall Spa Melton

I've worked in a salon where a therapist similarly abused trust placed in them with a female receptionist during a sports massage; when you're a vulnerable client in a state of undress, in isolation within a room with a shut door, whilst a clothed therapist towers over you, this is a particularly frightening state to be in when the trust placed in the therapist is abused.

Susie,totally agree,Martin I have just read the details and this man is quite obviously a danger to women.He was totally unprofessional touching women in their intimate parts whilst they were having a massage,and it was said that he was clearly aroused:evil:

I would say the same if had been a women touching guys,be it man or women therapist we do not cross that barrier,I think it must have been terrifying for those women and I bet there are a lot more who wont come forward because they feel that people will judge them for not speaking out at the time.

All I can say is thank goodness he is banged up and I wouldn't be surprised if we read about this man in a couple of years time commiting either the same sort of crime or God forbid even worse.Lets all hope that he gets the right sort of help he so obviously needs.

 

[donna123]

ok to my defence i did not think it was right what he did at all i have a mother and a daughter and i have feelings to.....all i was saying is that it would not be posted on hear if it was a woman and nobody would proberly find out all i was saying was he got his punishment and i bet it gose on more than we think with women.....and im sertinly not a perv thanks.

it is easyer for a man to get acused than a woman..... thats all i was saying

 

[BABSann]

ok to my defence i did not think it was right what he did at all i have a mother and a daughter and i have feelings to.....all i was saying is that it would not be posted on hear if it was a woman and nobody would proberly find out all i was saying was he got his punishment and i bet it gose on more than we think with women.....and im sertinly not a perv thanks.

it is easyer for a man to get acused than a woman..... thats all i was saying

I dont agree Donna,I think that it would have been posted on here regardless of sex.This is a professional forum hence why it was posted.

I dont agree that its easier for a man to be accused over a women,we all talk of equality and I just dont believe that many women or men assault clients generally,be it man or women,that's why the case has been highlighted,not because it was a man.Its wrong and he got what he deserved.I would say the same be it man or women.

 

[Lellipop]

ok to my defence i did not think it was right what he did at all i have a mother and a daughter and i have feelings to.....all i was saying is that it would not be posted on hear if it was a woman and nobody would proberly find out all i was saying was he got his punishment and i bet it gose on more than we think with women.....and im sertinly not a perv thanks.

it is easyer for a man to get acused than a woman..... thats all i was saying

Male or Female it would be posted on here and would get the same response.
What this man has done is just awful and the sentence reflects that.

 

[kylieb]

OMG that is awful! Such a shame because I think we need more Male therapists in our industry and all this does is gives them a bad name. Shame!
But GOOD they caught him and locked him up!!

 

[kylieb]

This therapist be it man or women sexually assaulted trusting clients.If this had been your mother or daughter would you feel the same way?If this was you would you feel the same way? I seriously think not.He doesn't deserve a 'rest', as you put it.I could never imagine abusing a client?I dont think many people could,it's really not about sexuality of the therapist.

I would imagine if it were a female abusing clients they would get EXACTLY the same punishment and rightly so.These idiots should be totally banned from ever working with people again,what if the client had been alone in a building with this so called therapist?I hope he never has a job working alone with clients of any nature again.Imagine if it were in a nursing home :Scared:

As for the comment about many women getting away with sexual activities with clients I would suggest this be consensual, and of a totally different nature.The whole thing is disgraceful.I feel sorry for the families concerned and people he assaulted.

Totally agree with this. Very well said! It's discusting!

 

[Zo Zo]

ok to my defence i did not think it was right what he did at all i have a mother and a daughter and i have feelings to.....all i was saying is that it would not be posted on hear if it was a woman and nobody would proberly find out all i was saying was he got his punishment and i bet it gose on more than we think with women.....and im sertinly not a perv thanks.

it is easyer for a man to get acused than a woman..... thats all i was saying

OK. I'm going to stick my neck out here.

Yes, there have been cases of women convicted of sexual crimes but generally speaking, a far higher percentage of sexual predators are MALE.

Now before you guys all jump on me, I am NOT saying men are sexual predators. What I am saying is, of all the sexual predators out there, the majority are male.

Generally speaking, females are more vulnerable than males. Yes, there are some scary women out there, but women are known as the weaker sex for a reason. We are generally not 6'3" and built like a brick sh*thouse. We are generally not able to defend ourselves against men.

I do agree that female therapists might have sexual relations with male clients but that does not mean the attention is unwanted or unsolicited. I'm sorry, but unless we are massgaing in a 'massage parlour' I don't think we are likely to touch our clients intimately.

 

[BeautyBombshell]

This article has made me feel quite sick. I hope this doesn't tarnish the name of the good male therapists.

I feel for the victims, what a horrible thing to go through. But at least they caught him, let's hope that brings comfort to these women and their families.

Donna123, I disagree wholeheartedly with you and i find your comments inappropriate and insensitive.

I believe gender was irrelevant, it was posted on a professional forum because it is shocking for any professional therapist to assault clients.

 

[240982]

I agree with the last post - Donna you're comments are in sensitive and inappropriate.

In all honesty, without all the information, no-one really does know what happened, but believe me I know all the details and 6 years is not enough - maybe it'll be extended with the 5th new victim that has come forward... This man is a disgrace to the profession and a disgrace to Men...

Not only that, Ragdale Hall should be hanging their heads in shame in how they dealt with this situation - they also have a lot to apologise for - read the judge's statement at sentencing he wasn't impressed with them!