ACT Supreme Court sentences rapist masseur Weiqing Liu to jail

Weiqing Liu, of Wright, was sentenced in the ACT Supreme Court on Tuesday to nearly three-and-a-half years in jail.

Justice David Mossop ordered him to serve 16 months behind bars before the rest of the sentence is suspended in favour of a good behaviour order.

The judge also ordered Liu, 34, to complete 200 hours of community service upon his release.

Liu had previously pleaded guilty to three counts of sexual intercourse without consent, and five counts of committing an act of indecency without consent.

Many of the charges were "rolled up", meaning some of the counts contained multiple instances of indecent assault or digital rape.

Liu committed the crimes while providing remedial massage services at a traditional Chinese medicine clinic in Phillip between November 2019 and October 2021.

All of the women had been seeking remedies for injuries or ailments and, in one case, undergoing fertility treatment.

On Tuesday, Justice Mossop said he was "not satisfied beyond reasonable doubt that the offender was sexually motivated ... or [motivated] as a means of improving financial circumstances".

"That leaves the motivation or the combination of motivations uncertain," he said.

The judge said the consequences of Liu's crimes "have upset future plans he and his wife had and were working towards", with the family required to sell their home to pay legal bills.

"I accept he is very remorseful for his conduct and unlikely to reoffend," Justice Mossop added.

Justice Mossop said each of the victims were in "a position of vulnerability" and experienced "a breach of trust".

"Each victim was semi-naked and lying on a massage table in one of the cubicles," he said.

The court heard Liu had told a pre-sentence report author he believed the sexual touching of the victims "involved the provision of an extra service".

The report author described the 34-year-old as "emotionally immature, naive and lacking worldliness".

"[Liu] accepted the logic his conduct would lead to further referrals was bizarre," Justice Mossop said.

Liu's counsel, Kieran Ginges, had previously argued his client did not commit the crimes for sexual gratification, rather stating the man had a "financial motive".

In what Mr Ginges described as "a reasonable explanation", Liu "thought that by providing such a service he would be enticing them to return and they would in fact recommend their friends".

Prosecutor Lewis Etheredge labelled Liu's claims a "self-serving" attempt to "minimise his actions".

Mr Etheredge argued Liu had committed the crimes for sexual gratification.

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An agreed statement of facts describes Liu's victims freezing in fear and shock.

Some of the women described pulling their legs tightly together in an attempt prevent Liu from touching their genitals.

Another tried to build up the courage to scream.

The agreed facts state Liu treated one of his victims at least a dozen times before he raped her on the massage table.

Another victim felt Liu press his erect penis against her arm on multiple occasions.

At a sentence hearing on Monday, one of the women read an emotional poem to the court.

She spoke of feeling like a bird locked in a "cage of trauma" with its wings clipped and feet tied.

"Traumatic memories of his assault are forever burned into my consciousness," she said.

Liu is set to be released from jail in November 2024.

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