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UPDATE: Masseur Says Sex With Client Was Consensual

Rape trial continues this week in Napa County Superior Court.

UPDATE: Monday, Jan. 27 2013, 3:30 p.m.

The masseur on trial on allegations of raping a client at a Yountville spa testified the woman encouraged him to get intimate with him and never tried to stop him.

in excruciatingly explicit detail and through an interpreter,  Elbrick Pasayes Albizures described a massage on April 13, 2013, that turned into an X-rated incident, complete with oral sex, masturbation and ultimately intercourse.

He said Jane Doe began-moving and moaning, exposed her breast and grabbed his arm with one hand while placing her other hand in her vagina.

After more touching, he unzipped his pants and she stroked his penis and put her mouth on it, he said.

She then told him to get up on the table and have intercourse, wrapping her legs around him, he said.

"At any time did she do anything to suggest she didn't want you to continue?" defense attorney Thomas Maas asked.

"No," Albizures said.

"If she had said, 'What the f---- are you doing?,' would you have stopped?" Maas said.

"Yes," Albizures said.

Albizures said Jane Doe appeared calm and friendly immediately after the incident and was of similar demeanor in a phone call to his home the next day, April 14.

It wasn't until later, after Albizures was notified by the spa not to report for work on Monday, April 15, that she because angry with him over the phone, saying, "You raped me," Albizures testified.

The Napa County jury of roughly an equal number of men and women sat impassively throughout the extended narrative. 

Albizures, a slight man at 5'1" and about 135 pounds, mostly kept his head down, appearing to be close to or in tears on several occasions. He  spoke so softly that the interpreter sitting next to him once or twice had trouble hearing his answers.

The masseur said he had missed about 2 1/2 months of work in early 2013 due to illness. He had the flu and pneumonia, twice. 

Doctors told him his heart was not in good condition and he had surgery to insert a pacemaker in his chest.

"I didn't realize how difficult (the surgery) was going to be," Albizures said. "They told me that, at 30, I was very young to have a pacemaker put into my chest."

He appeared most emotional when he said he feared losing his family. He and his wife have been married for five years, and have been together for 11 years. Their children are ages 2 and 6. He testified that he had never before had sex outside of the relationship and marriage.

In addition to working at Villagio, Albizures has worked at Massage Envy and at private clients' homes.

One of Albizures' private long-term clients, Danyse Schaffer of Napa, testified Monday that she has had massages from Albizures for eight years, and that she has never experienced any touch or action from him that was sexually inappropriate.

Albizures is charged with one count of felony rape and one count of felony sexual penetration with force.

Closing arguments in the jury trial are expected Tuesday morning. The trial starts at 9 a.m. before Napa County Superior Court Judge Francisca Tisher. 


UPDATE: Monday, Jan. 27, 2013, 12:15 p.m.

The masseur accused of raping a client during a massage at a Yountville spa said he knew he would lose his job if he had sex with a client.

Elbrick Pasayes Albizures made the comment during direct questioning by his attorney Thomas Maas as he took the stand Monday in his own defense.

Speaking through an interpreter, Albizures said there would be "no money" coming into his household if he lost his job due to violating state licensing regulations by having sex with a client.

Albizures, who is married and who has two children, is accused of raping a woman, known only as Jane Doe, on April 13, 2013. He had worked at the Villagio Spa in Yountville for 10 years prior to the incident. He has since been fired.

Albizures, who said he came to the U.S. in the late 1990s from Guatemala, was 30 at the time of incident and living in Dixon.

Earlier defense testimony included fellow Villagio employees Carole Showers, a masseuse, and Conrado Villanueva, a spa concierge. Both said they were well-acquainted with Albizures and considered themselves friendly co-workers.

Also testifying for the defense was Napa County Sheriff's Deputy Keith Wamsley. Wamsley, who did the initial interview with Jane Doe and filed a report before handing the case over to Napa County Sheriff's Det. Chris Pacheco for investigation, was grilled by both Maas and prosecutor Hafenstein as to contents of his report.

Questioning centered upon statements Wamsley recorded from Jane Doe as to whether she put up resistance when Albizures first allegedly penetrated her genital area with his fingers and then mounted her in sexual intercourse.

Wamsley said he quoted her in the report as saying "leave it alone" and swatting away his hand during the digital penetration. He also said she told him she did not scream, run or forcibly resist the intercourse because "she was in shock."

Hafenstein, however, questioned Wamsley on cross-examination about why none of the deputy's questions were noted in the report -- specifically questions about whether Jane Doe put up any verbal or physical resistance.

He also asked Wamsley if the deputy thought his performance in taking the report was adequate, to which Wamsley said, "I do." 

Maas asked Wamsley if he might have asked about resistance -- such as screaming -- to see if there might be witnesses who heard the incident taking place. Wamsley said that might have been a reason to ask.

Hafenstein asked Wamsley if he know that said proof of resistance was not necessary legally to prove rape -- only that the victim was "unwilling." Wamsley said Jane Doe told him it was "against her will."

"She said she was confused," Wamsley said under questioning by Maas.

Earlier testimony revealed that Jane Doe suffered from multiple sclerosis and sometimes walked with a cane. The massages helped ease her symptoms, her boyfriend said in earlier testimony.

Jane Doe told Wamsley that she had had previous massages with Albizures and that "she always chose him because he was always professional and non-threatenng," he said.

Defense testimony continues this afternoon before Napa County Superior Court Judge Francisca Tisher.

PREVIOUSLY: Monday, Jan. 27, 2013, 10:30 a.m.
The boyfriend of a woman who claims she was raped during a massage at a Yountville spa said he "knew something was wrong" when he picked her up afterwards.

The boyfriend, who works for an NFL team, made the comment during questioning by Napa County Deputy District Attorney Lance Hafenstein in the trial Monday of masseur Elbrick Pasayes Albizures.

Hafenstein requested the boyfriend's name not be used in order to avoid identifying the victim, who is being referred to as Jane Doe.

After the boyfriend's testimony, the prosecution rested its case. Defense attorney Thomas Maas will be presenting his case starting at about 10:45 a.m Monday.


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