Antonio Stampone, 39, is pictured leaving Truro Crown Court
A judge has slammed a prestigious adults-only hotel for failing to tell police that a woman had been sexually assaulted during a massage at its luxury spa.
A holidaymaker became concerned at the behaviour of her Italian masseur during a full-body treatment at The Scarlet in Mawgan Porth, near Newquay, Cornwall.
Antonio Stampone, 39, began breathing heavily as he gave the massage and brushed against the woman’s exposed nipple.
Truro Crown Court was told Stampone then began massaging her breast and then her genitals, forcing her to grab Stampone’s hand and demand he stop.
The court heard she reported the incident to the hotel management, but the luxury hotel did not inform the police that a sexual offence had taken place.
The offence only came to light when the woman went to report the crime herself.
Stampone admitted sexual assault and was handed a suspended prison sentence.
Judge Simon Carr said: ‘I am deeply concerned by the way The Scarlet hotel chose to investigate these matters.
‘It was entirely proper to conduct an internal investigation. It was improper not to report it to the police.
‘It has all the hallmarks of a hotel trying to protect their reputation, rather than them protecting women using the facilities at this spa.
‘I thought the days were gone when a company made a knee-jerk reaction to cover it up, rather than reporting it to the proper authorities.
‘I do hope the hotel authorities will act appropriately in the future.’
Prosecutor Philip Lee said the woman came to Cornwall on holiday in the summer and stayed at the hotel.
She had a number of treatments in the spa and this was the second massage by Stampone, who had only joined the hotel a couple of months beforehand.
He had been working as a masseur for 11 years at top-end hotels in Italy and Singapore.
Stampone admitted sexual assault and was handed a suspended prison sentence by the judge
Mr Lee said the woman was alone in a dark, small room with Stampone as he administered a full-body hot poultice treatment.
He said: ‘For some 20 minutes, he massaged her legs up to her upper thigh. Then he placed his right hand on her right breast area with the other hand on her abdomen.
He passed his hand across her nipple area and she noticed his breathing was getting heavy.’
Mr Lee said the woman reported the incident to hotel management and Stampone later apologised.
He said Stampone was dismissed from his job two days later, but added: ‘The hotel did not report the matter to the police.’
Mr Lee said the woman was frightened and deeply distressed by the incident and still suffers from nausea, nightmares and anxiety.
Edward Bailey, mitigating for Stampone, said: ‘That afternoon he succumbed momentarily to temptation and lust got the better of him.
The judge slammed hotel bosses at the Scarlet hotel and spa for not reporting the matter to police
‘From the moment it happened, he was apologising. He has thrown away a career of some 11 years as a highly respected masseur.’
Mr Bailey said Stampone was back in Italy when the police launched their investigation and he flew back to meet officers.
He said he had travelled back to the UK on two further occasions for court appearances.
Mr Bailey added that Stampone intended to leave the UK and return to Italy, to care for his unwell mother and help his family in the wake of a devastating earthquake in the L’Aguila region.
He said he also intended to give up on the profession and would instead get a job as a financial agent in his brother’s insurance firm.
Judge Carr told him: ‘During the course of a professional massage you sexually assaulted this woman.
‘She would have been very frightened by what was happening and what could have happened.’
He said such incidents typically carried an immediate prison sentence, but, given Stampone’s remorse and actions since the offence, the sentence was suspended.
Stampone was sentenced to 12 months in prison, suspended for two years, was ordered to pay £500 court costs and be the subject of a sexual harm prevention order.