University of Kansas massage therapist is found guilty of sex crimes after molesting four female college athletes during sessions and abusing a child aged 9-10 at his home

A massage therapist has been was found guilty of sex crimes against five people, including four female athletes at the University of Kansas and a girl who was aged between 9 or 10 at the time of the abuse. 

Shawn P. O'Brien, 50, was found guilty on all eight counts of sexual abuse by a jury in Douglas County District Court on Thursday. The verdict was returned Thursday afternoon several hours after deliberations.

O'Brien was contracted by the university in 2016 for several athletic teams, and also gave out massages for free to other students. 

He was accused of fondling three female soccer players and a female Ultimate Frisbee player during massage therapy sessions. 

He also abused the young daughter of a family friend on several occasion when she stayed the night at his house under the ruse of giving her secret free massages. 

When the guilty verdict was read, the women who testified were seen crying and hugging in the courtroom while O'Brien slumped in his chair and stared at the ground, according to the Lawrence Journal-World.

'Mr. O'Brien abused his position as a massage therapist to gain access to victims,' Douglas County District Attorney Suzanne Valdez said in a news release. 'Girls and women deserve to feel safe when turning to a practitioner for help, and this office will prosecute accordingly.'

A jury found massage therapist, Shawn P. O'Brien, 50, guilty on all eight counts of sexual abuse involving five women- one child and four Kansas University student athletes

Three of the charges accuse O'Brien of indecent liberties with a child under the age of 14 for fondling a girl who was 9 or 10 on three occasions between 2013 and 2015. 

The charge is an off-grid felony, meaning that O'Brien could face a 'hard 25' life sentence meaning he could receive at 25 least years in prison before being considered for parole.

The other five charges accuse him of sexual battery for inappropriately touching four women while giving them massages to treat athletic-related issues between 2016 and 2019. Three of the women played for the University of Kansas soccer team.

The fourth woman was a university student who played Ultimate Frisbee and was a client at his office. The names of the women were not released due to the sexual nature of the crime. 

He worked at Medissage - Kamehameha Massage LLC, in Lawrence, Kansas. O'Brien was listed as a registered owner of Kamehameha Massage LLC, the massage business at 346 Maine St., until a few days before he was first charged, according to state business records show.

O'Brien had a contract with the university to provide massage treatments for the women's basketball, tennis, softball and soccer teams. 

The university also confirmed that O'Brien provided free massages on campus to the general student population beginning in 2011 up until the fall of 2019. 

He also distributed gift cards on campus that may have led to off-campus massages at his office. His contracted was terminated after initial charges were filed in February 2020.

The 50-year-old was first formally charged with indecent behavior with a child on February 21, 2020, for abuse that happened about seven years ago. 

When the school was made aware of his charges, they began an investigation into his conduct on campus in March of 2020. 

Investigators interviewed nearly 40 student athletes and seven staff members finding him accused of inappropriately touching at least six female athletes at the University of Kansas.

The school released a statement about the investigation which also found that 'an athletic trainer was aware of at least some reports of unwarranted and unwanted touching by the therapist but failed to appropriately report the conduct.' 

The Douglas County District Attorney's Office confirmed with DailyMail.com that he did not testify in this case.

The young girl who O'Brien abused when she was 9 and 10 testified the three incidents occurred when she was sleeping over at O'Brien's home, which occurred a few times because their families were friends.

The girl said she didn't realize she was being sexually abused until she was in middle school when she learned about sexual abuse. As a freshman in high school she began seeing a therapist with whom she shared what she experienced which led to the opening of the criminal investigation.

According to the arrest affidavit released by the Lawrence Journal-World: A Kansas Department for Children and Families worker interviewed the girl in June 2018, about five years after the abuse.

The girl said that on a few incidents, O'Brien, a family friend, had offered her a head massage because she was 'tense.' He then 'worked his way' down to her chest and genitals, touching her under her clothes. She said the incidents occurred in O'Brien's home while multiple younger kids were sleeping in the living room, and 'the only way he didn't touch me is if I was sleeping' right next to someone else.

The girl reportedly said she didn't tell anyone 'because she never had a massage before and just thought it was a normal massage.' As she got older, she realized that what happened 'wasn't ok' and told a therapist before telling a relative.

The girl said she wanted O'Brien to 'go to jail forever.'

A Lawrence police officer reportedly spoke with O'Brien at his massage parlor which is when O'Brien allegedly told the officer that he'd given the girl a head massage a few times but that another person was present each time.

O'Brien allegedly told police that he gives massages to people of all ages, including children, at his business but parents were always in the room every time he gave a child a massage.

O'Brien reportedly said he was 'being accused of some serious ' and that he thought the allegation was someone's 'plan to ruin his life.'

The affidavit, filed Dec. 31, 2019, does not mention any forensic evidence. O'Brien was booked into the Douglas County Jail on February 7, 2020 and released the same afternoon on $25,000 surety bond. The only condition of bond is that O'Brien have no contact with civilian witnesses, according to court documents.

The University of Kansas said they are 'deeply troubled' to learn of the allegations held against O'Brien 

After the school's investigation, Douglas County Deputy District Attorney David Melton filed amended charges on July 14, 2020, adding six counts of sexual battery, all misdemeanors, involving four individuals. The charges regarding the university women were bound to the charges involving the younger girl.

The young girl then testified in court on September 1, 2020, recalling three incidents of abuse; she could not exact dates but remembered two had occurred when the weather was warm, and one occurred during Christmastime, because there was a Christmas tree. She also testified that on one occasion, he had told her that he had a 'massage test' at work the next day and that he needed to practice on her.

O'Brien pled not guilty.

Defense attorney Philip Sedgwick attempted to separate the child sex crime charges from the charges involving the young women claiming that to be connected the charge must be connected or constitute 'a common scheme', which he claims they do not based on the dates and locations of the incidents. 'The acts are not of the same character,' Sedgwick wrote. 'One involves coercion and the other a minor.' But his request was denied.

The three KU athletes testified in court that O'Brien touched their genitals under their clothing during the massage sessions while applying hot stones to sore areas without asking permission.

O'Brien answered questions about the students' massage sessions explaining what he would or wouldn't do during a session. Deputy District Attorney Joshua Seiden repeatedly asked O'Brien to answer the questions with what he did do instead of what he would do but O'Brien claimed to not remember any of the incidents with the athletes.

During closing arguments, Seiden told jurors that said O'Brien used his credentials as a professional massage therapist as a guise to fondle the alleged victims running both a successful massage business and 'sexual exploitation scheme.' He also pointed to the testimony from the soccer players who said that O'Brien fondled them while he was providing massage therapy for the team.

Sedgwick, said that the case comes down to a 'he said, she said' situation, suggesting the prosecutors did not present enough evidence to convict O'Brien. He argued that the athletes did not complain about his methods or let him know that what he was doing made them uncomfortable. 

He also pointed to testimony from O'Brien and his ex-wife, who worked with him as a massage therapist, that they had given thousands of massages over the years, and incidental contact with a woman's genitalia was possible when placing hot stones on a woman's groin during a massage. 

Judge Sally Pokorny ordered O'Brien to be taken into custody while he awaits sentencing on September 24. 

This is the latest sex allegation involving the athletic department at the University of Kansas. In 2019, a former volunteer assistant volleyball coach admitted stealing underwear from women on the team. The judge found his crimes were sexually motivated and ordered him to register as a sex offender for the next 15 years.