Warning: This story contains details and content that some readers may find distressing.
A masseur who gained exposure from a feature on the Kyle and Jackie O Show has been incarcerated following his conviction for sexually assaulting a listener of the well-known radio broadcast.
Steven Goldberg, aged 67, is currently awaiting his sentencing after he was found guilty of assaulting a 32-year-old woman at his massage studio located in eastern Sydney in October 2023.
The victim had become aware of Goldberg’s so-called “magical” treatments through a positive endorsement by Jackie O on the KIIS radio show.
There is no implication of any misconduct by Jackie O or her co-host, Kyle Sandilands, in relation to this incident.
The incident and the associated 20-minute radio segment were pivotal elements in the prosecution’s case presented to the jury.
“It was something else, oh my god, it really was,” Jackie O said on air.
However, the female listener – who cannot be legally named or identified – experienced something very different after being doused in oil, blindfolded and raped in the massage studio at Goldberg’s cliff-side home.
“I felt frozen in fear and I was worried about what else he might do,” she told jurors in Parramatta District Court earlier this month.
“I felt in a lot of pain.”
On Thursday, jurors returned guilty verdicts for a single count of sexual touching and an additional count of sexual intercourse, both without consent.
They deliberated for just over two-and-a-half hours before coming to their unanimous decisions.
Goldberg had his bail revoked and was placed behind bars ahead of his sentence hearing on December 11.
The 67-year-old admitted penetrating the woman but claimed he reasonably believed she had consented beforehand.
The victim told the court he had asked “are we alright to keep going?” before the alleged sexual assaults occurred.
She said yes because she thought he was merely asking about the massage, she told the jury.
As he was allegedly molesting her, the woman put her legs together but he persisted, she said.
She faked an orgasm to try to get him to stop, she told the jury.
Goldberg also did not mention that the massage would contain anything sexual in his discussions with the woman, prosecutor Ann Bonnor said.
However, defence barrister April Francis told the jury that Goldberg had asked “Are we alright to keep going here?” referring to the woman’s groin area.
There was no verbal instruction by the woman to stop, she argued.
Goldberg apologised unreservedly to the alleged victim and offered her a complimentary massage in a phone call made on October 26, 2023, which was legally recorded by police and played to the jury.
“There definitely will be no way in hell I’d come back or refer anyone to you,” she replied.
