Mongkhon Thopwan was based at Nine Lucksa on North End Road
54-year-old Mongkhon Thopwan of West Kensington
A Thai massage therapist based on North End Road has been jailed for 11 years after being found guilty of sexually assaulting two women.
54-year-old Mongkhon Thopwan of West Kensington was sentenced at Isleworth Crown Court on Friday, 24 June, after being convicted on Monday, 21 March, of five counts of assault following a six-day trial.
Detectives are now appealing for others who may have been sexually assaulted by him to come forward.
The court heard from two independent victims that Thopwan had on two separate occasions, seven months apart, abused his position of trust as a masseur by seriously sexually assaulting them. Both women reported the attacks to police.
The second victim, using the pseudonym Molly, has since said, “I considered keeping this serious assault a secret and staying silent because I really really could not bear the thought of ever repeating what happened. It felt too weird, humiliating and hideous. When I think now about the anger, sadness and anxiety that would have eaten at my soul had I not said something, that hurts.
“Running on adrenaline and complete panic I phoned my best friend and she persuaded me to phone the police, oh gosh am I glad I did, it was instantly 'not my secret'. It was out there 'away' from me, 'away' from my heart, 'away' from my soul. And as a result I had a crazy supportive network holding me up and holding me tight. Within an hour of telling the police what happened this man was arrested and spent three months in jail before being bailed on strictest of conditions.”
The first attack occurred on 1 November 2020 when a woman in her twenties attended the Nine Lucksa premises on North End Road in West Kensington for massage therapy. Thopwan was arrested two days later and was bailed with strict conditions whilst detectives continued with their enquiries.
Nine Lucksa on North End Road. Picture: Google Streetview
Hammersmith and Fulham Borough Council was informed by the police. At this time the premises were closed due to the pandemic.
The Met’s licensing team and Hammersmith and Fulham Council worked together to ensure that neither Thopwan’s therapist’s licence, nor the business licence for Thai Massage Nine Lucksa, were renewed. Both were effective from 1 December 2020.
A second victim, a woman in her 30s, was sexually assaulted on 17 June 2021 at Nine Lucksa. Thopwan was arrested the following day and then charged and remanded in custody. During this time Thopwan was not registered to work.
Detective Constable Natalie Witt, the investigating officer from the Met’s Specialist Crime Command, said, “I applaud the tremendous courage and bravery of these two women, as without their evidence we would not have been able to remove this sexual predator from our streets.
”The circumstances of the offences meant there was no forensic or CCTV evidence available and it was the powerful testimonies of these women which secured the convictions. I would appeal to anyone who has been victim of a similar attack to contact the police.”
“Thopwan is an extremely dangerous offender who targeted these women when they were at their most vulnerable.
"Their crucial evidence led to his conviction and has ensured Thopwan cannot subject anyone else to such horrific attacks.
“I would again urge anyone who has been a victim of a similar attack to speak to us directly quoting 8803/02NOV20.
“We have specially trained officers who will help and support you.
“Alternatively contact us through a third party support group such as The Havens or London Survivors Gateway who offer a 24/7 urgent advice number if you need to speak with someone for the first time.”
Value Reading Articles Like This? Help Us Produce More This site remains committed to providing local community news and public interest journalism. Articles such as the one above are integral to what we do. We aim to feature as much as possible on local societies, charities based in the area, fundraising efforts by residents, community-based initiatives and even helping people find missing pets. We've always done that and won't be changing, in fact we'd like to do more. However, the readership that these stories generates is often below that needed to cover the cost of producing them. Our financial resources are limited and the local media environment is intensely competitive so there is a constraint on what we can do. We are therefore asking our readers to consider offering financial support to these efforts. Any money given will help support community and public interest news and the expansion of our coverage in this area. A suggested monthly payment is £8 but we would be grateful for any amount for instance if you think this site offers the equivalent value of a subscription to a daily printed newspaper you may wish to consider £20 per month. If neither of these amounts is suitable for you then contact info@neighbournet.com and we can set up an alternative. All payments are made through a secure web site. One-off donations are also appreciated. Choose The Amount You Wish To Contribute. If you do support us in this way we'd be interested to hear what kind of articles you would like to see more of on the site – send your suggestions to the editor. For businesses we offer the chance to be a corporate sponsor of community content on the site. For £30 plus VAT per month you will be the designated sponsor of at least one article a month with your logo appearing if supplied. If there is a specific community group or initiative you'd like to support we can make sure your sponsorship is featured on related content for a one off payment of £50 plus VAT. All payments are made through a secure web site. |
June 24, 2022
