A Saanich massage therapist has pleaded guilty to secretly recording four women and one of his victims is speaking out in hope of protecting others.
Marion Brulot says her world exploded last year after she found out that she had been secretly videotaped by Gilles-Philippe Lavoie while the two of them were being intimate.
“I was in the Thrifty’s parking lot. and I howled. I sobbed for an hour. I couldn’t move. I had to get my sister to pick up my daughter.”
At the time it occurred, Brulot was completely unware that she was being recorded.
“Much to my horror, the police found a video of us on his phone, and in that video, it’s evident you see him hiding the phone. And ensuring there is nothing blocking the view, and calling me into the room. And he videotaped us.”
Initially, police investigated Lavoie after receiving a complaint on the matter, but they discovered multiple videos, including three of his clients who came to the clinic where he worked as a massage therapist.
Police found videos that Lavoie had recorded — shot between March 20 and August 10, 2020 — of clients changing their clothes.
Police also found the one of Brulot and now she wants answers.
“Why is it that the police, after understanding there was more than one victim, did not notify the public?” Brulot said. “Phil is a threat to women. As far as I understand, he won’t have to register on the sex offender registry even though these are sexual offences. Why is that?”
According to the College of Massage Therapists of British Columbia, Lavoie voluntarily resigned his registration last year, but the College’s CEO, Eric Wredenhagen, said Lavoie is still under investigation.
“The fact that a person resigned doesn’t take away the ability of the College to continue to investigate and to take action,” Wredenhagen said.
There wasn’t any answer at his Saanich home today, but Lavoie is scheduled back in court on August 5 to set a date for sentencing.
Lavoie was arrested by Saanich Police on August 10, 2020.
READ MORE: Former Saanich massage therapist facing voyeurism charge
In a statement, Saanich Police spokesperson Detective Sergeant Damian Kowalewich wrote: “Throughout the course of the investigation, officers from the Saanich Police took steps to identify and communicate with the victims in this matter. It is expected that details surrounding the circumstances will come out during sentencing that will shed light on the scope of the investigation”.
Mary Griffin
