A Victoria masseur has been charged with sexual assault after a survivor shared their story with police of an incident that happened at a Fort Street massage and reflexology business.
The Victoria Police Department’s special victims unit (SVU) arrested Ajesh Jacob on May 13 after an investigation that detectives started in March. It was spurred from a survivor coming forward with allegations of sexual assault against Jacob.
The 35-year-old Victoria man has been charged with one count of sexual assault and was released with several conditions, including being barred from performing massage services.
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Jacob, who police say goes by Sam, was employed at a massage and reflexology business in the 700-block of Fort Street. Since his release, more people have come forward with sexual assault allegations. VicPD says detectives are investigating those additional reports of sexualized violence and that investigators believe more survivors may not yet have spoken to police.
Anyone with related information is asked to call the VicPD report desk at 250-995-7654 ext. 1. To report anonymously, call Greater Victoria Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477.
VicPD says SVU investigators “want survivors of sexualized violence to know that we believe you.” Police say survivors of sexualized violence can report their experience to a family doctor, a counsellor or the Victoria Sexual Assault Centre. The centre also supports survivors directly and can assist them if they choose to report a sexual assault to police. The centre can be reached at vsac.ca/.
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