A tribunal panel concluded the “nature and gravity” of the convictions were such that only issuing a striking-off order would be sufficient, reports Grant Williams, Local Democracy Reporter

Dimov Yuliyan (credit Met Police) — Yuliyan Dimov (credit Met Police)

An Enfield masseur has been struck off the register of physiotherapists after being convicted of multiple voyeurism and sexual assault charges.

Yuliyan Dimov, now aged 47, was sentenced to nine-and-a-half-years in prison in May 2024 after being convicted at Wood Green Crown Court of three counts of sexually assaulting an underage girl, eight counts of sexual assault on a female, and eight counts of voyeurism.

Last week Dimov was also banned from the profession of physiotherapy following a decision by the Health and Care Professions Tribunal Service (HCPTS).

A panel concluded that the “nature and gravity” of the convictions were such that only issuing a striking-off order would be sufficient “to protect the public and maintain proper standards of conduct and behaviour”.

The incidents took place while Dimov was employed by Urban Massage, which provides an at-home mobile massage service. The company told the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS) that Dimov was immediately removed from the platform and all future appointments were cancelled after a client reported an incident in November 2021.

A police investigation was first launched into the Bulgarian national in 2022 after a woman reported that she was sexually assaulted during a massage at her home. Officers contacted all of Dimov’s female clients, with ten making allegations of sexual abuse. He was arrested at Gatwick Airport on 15th June 2023 whilst attempting to board a one-way flight back to his home country.

In a police interview, Dimov denied all of the allegations, but when his mobile phone was examined they found more than 30 photographs of different women that had been taken without their knowledge when he had visited their homes. Despite mounting evidence against him, Dimov claimed that the pictures of the women were only for professional use for his masseur website.

The lead investigator on the case, Met Police Detective Constable Abigail Butler, said at the time of his conviction: “Dimov preyed on women who trusted him and were in a vulnerable state when he assaulted them.

“The great work carried out by officers to build this case is only overshadowed by the bravery of the women who came forward. […] We are dedicated to protecting vulnerable women and girls in London and we will do all we can to make them feel safe.”

At the time of sentencing, the judge told Dimov that he had a “dangerous and distorted view” of his power over the victims and “took advantage of their vulnerability”. This included photographing them whilst they were alone, only partially clothed, and face down on the massage bench.

The judge added: “They would not know, because they could not see what you were doing, and one complainant told us, that although she noticed that there were a large number of apparent pauses in the massage, she assumed that you were taking sips of water, not knowing, of course, that you were busy photographing her.”

Dimov argued that the photos were taken with consent to post on his Facebook business page – a claim the judge described as “a lie and a ridiculous one at that”.

They said: “All the photographs were taken from behind the victims, and from the quality of the shots, quite clearly, they were taken surreptitiously. It is simply not true that you obtained consent. […] And, then you sent them on to your friend […] who was clearly not involved in the massage or physiotherapy business.”

When Dimov felt none of the victims had made an official complaint, he was encouraged “to become more brazen”, according to the judge. He then committed a string of sexual assaults, which included penetration with a finger and performing oral sex – for which he “resorted to blaming the victim”.

According to the judge, Dimov claimed one of the women “wordlessly asked” to have oral sex performed on them, which he did over fears she “might make a false claim of rape” against him. The judge said: “If your account was true, if you are as professional as you claimed to be, then all you had to say was, ‘No, I don’t do things like that’.”

After considering the facts of Dimov’s conviction, the HCPTS concluded that the only possible sanction would be to strike him off their register.

A spokesperson for Urban Massage said: “We were and remain appalled by this man’s disgraceful criminal behaviour and we are profoundly sorry that his victims endured such distressing experiences. They showed enormous courage in speaking out and we thank them for their bravery.

“The safety of people using the Urban platform is our highest priority. Practitioners are required to complete background checks before working with Urban, including DBS, identity, qualification, insurance, and right-to-work checks.

“Since this case, Urban has reviewed how safety information is presented to users and made reporting clearer and more prominent within the app, including encouraging people to report anything that doesn’t feel right, even if it seems minor, so concerns can be raised and acted on as early as possible.”

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