Calgary massage therapist guilty of sexually assaulting client

A Calgary massage therapist has been found guilty of sexually assaulting a client after jurors deliberated for about six hours.

Angel Tinco Zambrano, 44, took a deep breath as the jury foreperson announced the verdict.

Tinco Zambrano was on trial this week on a charge of sexual assault. He was working at Bare Esthetics in northeast Calgary at the time of the incident.

On Nov. 21, 2016, the victim received a massage from the offender.

Both the complainant — whose identity is protected by a publication ban — and Tinco Zambrano testified during the three-day trial.

She said he began sexually touching her during the massage without her consent. He said she initiated the touching.

When the complainant was questioned by prosecutor Andrew Barg, she testified she felt scared and frozen during the encounter.

After the assault, the victim said, Tinco Zambrano told her "this stays between you and me" before writing his name and number on a piece of paper and telling her to call him.

The victim then locked herself in her car and cried before calling her sister, who took her to police.

Tinco Zambrano testified the the sexual touching was consensual.

Defence lawyers Elizabeth Weisenburger and Michael Oykhman suggested the alleged victim wanted a "spontaneous erotic experience," got carried away and regretted it after.

Tinco Zambrano will be sentenced in April.

Court of Queen's Bench Justice Michele Hollins thanked jurors for their service before dismissing the panel made up of four women and eight men.