Steven Goldberg charged with allegedly raping massage client.
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A 32-year-old woman anticipated a relaxing experience when she attended a massage session promoted as “magical” on the Kyle and Jackie O show.

Instead, she left feeling violated, distressed, and fearful of clinical environments after being subjected to groping and digital assault.

Steven Goldberg, 69, is awaiting sentencing for attacking the woman during the two-hour session in Sydney‘s eastern suburbs.
Steven Goldberg charged with allegedly raping massage client.
Steven Goldberg is awaiting sentencing after being found guilty of sexual intercourse without consent and sexual touching without consent. (9News)
In a powerful statement read to Parramatta District Court by her father today, the woman laid bare the unrelenting suffering she has experienced since the October 2023 attack.

Her father, with emotion in his voice, recounted her experience: “I sought out the massage for help, comfort, and healing, but my trust was shattered in the most personal way.”

Due to legal reasons, the woman remains anonymous, but she expressed how the masseur misused his authority, leaving her feeling “repulsed, unclean, and tarnished.”

This traumatic event has cost her the ability to trust and feel secure in any medical or therapeutic setting, preventing her from even getting a haircut or attending a medical appointment for two years.

“I choose to live in pain and discomfort rather than potentially putting myself in a vulnerable position with a clinician again,” the 32-year-old said.

She described her ongoing struggles with anxiety, hypervigilance, and intrusive memories of the attack which leave her feeling “trapped and powerless”.

“I continue to live with the consequences of this crime every day, and the recovery it requires currently feels like a lifelong sentence,” the woman said.

When a 32-year-old woman arrived at her massage appointment, she was looking forward to a treatment touted as “magical” on the Kyle and Jackie O show. (Tim Bauer)

Goldberg was found guilty of sexual intercourse without consent and sexual touching without consent following a trial in November.

She learned about Goldberg from a glowing testimonial from radio host Jackie O, who said on air, “It was something else, oh my god”.

There is no suggestion of any wrongdoing on the part of Jackie O or co-host Kyle Sandilands.

Goldberg did not mention his services involved anything sexual and there was no communication to suggest the woman might be interested in that, prosecutor Ann Bonnor said.

The woman said he had asked, “Are we alright to keep going?” before the assault, and she agreed because she thought he was referring to the massage.

There was nothing in the tone or the casual nature of the question to indicate he was going to sexually touch her, Bonnor contended, and it didn’t amount to asking clear permission to do so.

She pushed for the 69-year-old to be jailed, citing the need to send a strong message to other massage therapists and health practitioners that the law doesn’t waiver.

But Goldberg’s lawyer, April Francis, argued her client was not a risk to the community given his age and the loss of his ability to work as a masseur.

Goldberg believed the woman had consented and apologised unreservedly for getting it wrong when confronted afterwards during a recorded phone call, she said.

“This wasn’t a case of trying to take advantage, this was a case of trying to provide a therapeutic benefit,” Francis told the court.

“It’s an unorthodox service but one that he was genuinely committed to.”

Goldberg will remain behind bars until he is sentenced in February 2026.

Support is available from the National Sexual Assault, Domestic and Family Violence Counselling Service at 1800RESPECT (1800 737 732).
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