A Burnaby spa employee who providedĀ purported vaginal-tightening treatments has been found guilty on all seven charges of sexual assaultĀ by a B.C. Supreme Court jury.
FarshadĀ Khojsteh KashaniĀ was first charged in 2022 after two clients of Fab Skin Care complained to police of being sexually assaulted during treatments. After police said there might beĀ more victims, five more women came forward.
All seven complainants testified during the trial.Ā Three of the women had a GrouponĀ ā€” from theĀ online marketplaceĀ that offers deals and discountsĀ ā€” for the procedure. The other four had been to the clinic for different esthetic procedures previously.Ā
Crown prosecutors saidĀ Khojsteh KashaniĀ sexually assaulted each of the seven complainants during the procedure, meaning he touched them sexually, arguing that the women wereĀ vulnerable due to the nature of the procedure and because they sawĀ Khojsteh Kashani as a trained medical professional.
Khojsteh Kashani’s defence argued that the complainants’ version of events was “illogical” and that he wouldn’t have risked sexually assaulting the womenĀ because it would imperilĀ his career, marriage and effortsĀ to move to Canada.
A biography on Fab Skin Care’s deactivated website said Khojsteh KashaniĀ worked as a general practitioner in Iran for more than fiveĀ years, performingĀ “various types of cosmetic and aesthetic treatments.”
The court heard thatĀ Khojsteh KashaniĀ went to medical school in Iran for seven years.Ā He immigrated under the skilledĀ workers program in 2011 and started working at the spa in 2017 to make ends meet whileĀ he tried to get his Iranian medical degree recognized in Canada.Ā
KhojstehĀ Kashani has never been registered as a physician in the province, according to the College of B.C. Physicians and Surgeons.
When charges were first announced in 2022, Fraser HealthĀ issued a public alert urging anyone who had received high-intensity focused ultrasound (HIFU) vaginal tightening treatments from Fab Skin Care to get immediately tested for sexually transmitted infections.
“…this business was not providing these services through a registered health professional and was not using appropriate infection control measures while providing these services,” the alert read.
Khojsteh Kashani’s bail has been revoked, and a bail hearing is scheduled for Friday in B.C. Supreme Court in Vancouver.Ā A sentencing hearing date has not been set.