Woman who claims masseuse sexually assaulted her heard about massage practice on Kyle and Jackie O show

A woman who claims she was raped by a masseuse in his 60s heard about the Sydney massage practice during a Kyle and Jackie O segment, a jury has been told. Steven Goldberg has pleaded not guilty to sexual intercourse without consent and sexually touching another person without consent. A woman, who cannot be identified for legal reasons, claims Mr Goldberg digitally penetrated her and pinched her nipple without consent during the massage on October 13, 2023. A jury was told it is not disputed that Mr Goldberg digitally penetrated her, but that he believed he had her permission. Crown prosecutor Ann Bonnor delivered her opening submissions during the first day of Mr Goldberg’s trial in the Parramatta District Court on Wednesday afternoon. Ms Bonnor told the jury the woman had heard about Mr Goldberg’s practice while listening to a Kyle and Jackie O segment. “She heard Jackie O …. talking about an amazing massage that she had had with someone called Steve,” Ms Bonnor told the jury. It is not alleged there was any indication during the segment that the massage practice offered a sexual element. The 20-minute segment was played to the court during the complainant’s evidence on Wednesday afternoon, with Jackie O recalling trying to hold in laughter at the beginning of the massage as Mr Goldberg made snake and chainsaw noises while he rubbed her skin. Jackie O called it a massage “mixed up with odd things that I’ve never experienced”, telling her audience Mr Goldberg had placed hot stones in her butt crack once he was done using them on her body. “What the hell’s going on?” Mr Sandilands is heard interjecting. “He’s not a creep guys, he’s actually like serious, this is part of the process,” Jackie O said. She says she was then transported back to her childhood and experienced a sense of clarity that would ordinarily take years of therapy to unravel. “I wish I could explain it, it was so emotional … instantly I was crying,” the radio host said. She describes being pushed off to the edge of the table at one point during the massage and spun around sideways, telling her audience: “I think everyone should do it”. “Not everyone’s going to have that experience,” she said, agreeing that she would go back to see him. She also said she got “good vibes” from Mr Goldberg and that you could tell he was passionate about his work. The woman then found what she believed to be the same practice Jackie O had spoken about and made an appointment for one of Mr Goldberg’s lomi lomi Hawaiian massages. ‘That was a bit close’ When the woman arrived at the subsequent appointment she told the man she heard about him online, declining that it was through Jackie O’s segment when he asked. “I don’t have a particular reason why,” she said. Before the massage he told her there was a physical and spiritual aspect to the massage, with some travelling in time during the experience. “Some people they cry at the end and there’s a big release,” the woman recalled him saying. She said there was no discussion of any sexual aspect of the massage, and that she had mentioned her neck and forearms were quite sore when asked if there was an area he should focus on. When the massage began she lay face down, naked underneath a sarong type sheet, as he massaged her and used brushes up and down her body. “At some points when he was massaging my thighs, like my upper thighs, I do remember thinking ‘Oh that was a bit close’, but you know at that stage it just felt part of the massage,” she said. “I hadn’t experienced this style of massage before and he didn’t make any contact with my vagina … at that stage. “It felt above board and it just felt like that was part of that style of massage.” Woman ‘blindfolded’ before alleged rape Ms Bonnor earlier told the jury the woman had no indication the massage would have a sexual element when booking the appointment, nor from a discussion she had with Mr Goldberg before the massage unfolded. Mr Goldberg had allegedly asked the woman to turn over onto her back about an hour and a half into the two hour massage before blindfolding her with a golden fabric. Ms Bonnor claimed Mr Goldberg massaged the woman’s breasts before beginning to massage near her groin, very close to her genitals. “Are we alright to keep going?” he asked. The woman replied “yes” under the alleged belief he was referring to the massage. Mr Goldberg moved to her clitoris and vulva shortly afterwards before digitally penetrating her and allegedly pinching her nipple. Ms Bonnor said she expected the jury to hear evidence that Mr Goldberg allegedly fingered the woman really quickly, causing her pain. “I expect you will hear that the accused asked her if she liked it fast or slow, and that she said slow … I expect she’ll give evidence of why she said that,” Ms Bonnor said. Mr Goldberg’s lawyer, April Francis, claimed her client had asked this “because he was concerned as to her desires about how the touching was unfolding”. “He was seeking out her response to the experience, and again, after she signals to him that she was sexually stimulated and conveys to him that she had orgasmed, again he inquires of her welfare,” Ms Francis said. Ms Bonnor further claimed Mr Goldberg kept going after the woman allegedly pushed her legs together. She then allegedly faked an orgasm before the masseuse asked if they were “done here”. Masseuse ‘apologised unreservedly’ The woman told her friend and partner about the alleged incident later that day before going to police the following day. Ms Francis, in her opening submissions, accepted her client had digitally penetrated the woman but maintained there was a firm dispute over whether Mr Goldberg knew the woman was not consenting, was reckless in regard to consent, or that he had an unreasonable belief that she was consenting. Ms Francis claimed the woman had not physically or verbally resisted during the incident, and that Mr Goldberg believed he had the woman’s permission for the acts. This is evidenced by a phone call between the pair — and recorded by police — following the massage, Ms Francis claimed; however, the Crown argues this same conversation indicated Mr Goldberg knew the woman was not consenting, or was reckless with consent. “It is also some evidence of his character he apologised unreservedly if he was mistaken,” Ms Francis said of the phone call, describing her client as an honest and kind man who “believes passionately in his practice”. Ms Francis added it was accepted Mr Goldberg did not indicate any intention of sexual touching before beginning the massage. “He said it happens sometimes, of course … but only where it’s perceived it’s something desired,” Ms Francis said. The trial continues. Domestic Violence helplines