Former Virginia Beach massage therapist sentenced to 8 years in prison - 13newsnow.com WVEC

[Germyah Batey]

Bowen Lajesse was found guilty last year of aggravated sexual battery and other charges.



VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. — A Virginia Beach judge on Thursday morning sentenced a former massage therapist to eight years in prison.


Bowen Lajesse was found guilty last year of aggravated sexual battery and other charges.


Prosecutors said Lajesse was a self-employed massage therapist at the Advanced Fuller-School of Massage Therapy in Virginia Beach. He was convicted by a jury in October 2024 for sexually abusing one of his clients while offering a massage.


On Thursday the court heard final impact statements from the victim and her family, as well as three character witnesses testifying on behalf of Lajesse’s character. The court said it received more than 50 letters of character witness statements from former colleagues, friends, and clients about Lajesse.


Lajesse himself issued his own statement before the judge, where he apologized to the victim and her family.


The judge said after considering the character witness statements and the fact that Lajesse had no previous criminal history, he reduced his prison sentence from a potential 30 years to eight years.


After Lajesse serves his sentence, he will have to pay court fees and must be listed as a sex offender.