AN OSTEOPATH has been found guilty of sexually assaulting patients as they lay on his treatment couch.
Mark Piraino, who co-owns the Westway Clinic in Hatchlands Road, Redhill, with his wife, abused his position by touching two boys and three adult male patients over a period of more than ten years.
Piraino, 40, of Ivydene Close, Redhill, removed their underwear and touched or rubbed their genitals as he massaged and treated them.
He performed a sexual act on one 13-year-old boy, telling him he needed to be aroused during treatment, and advised a male patient to bring pornography to his sessions for the same reason.
After deliberating for a day, and following a three-week trial, a jury at Guildford Crown Court unanimously found father-of-two Piraino guilty of ten charges.
Following the verdict, the father of one of the boys Piraino assaulted spoke to the Mirror of his relief.
"The worst thing for us is that we sent our son there," said the man, who cannot be identified to protect his son's anonymity. "And we urged him to carry on going when he said he didn't feel comfortable.
"But then when he said, with that worry in his voice, 'he makes me get naked', it was awful, absolutely awful, to think I have been sending him there.
"That is hard. My wife really did take it very hard. This is your little boy, your life."
He said the family had tried to count themselves lucky that their level-headed son had been able to carry on with his life, and urged victims in similar cases not to hesitate in speaking out.
He said: "This kind of abuse is probably a lot more common than people think. It always seems to happen to other people. But it does happen.
"The whole process for us has been far from pleasant but it was handled as best as it could have been. People should be encouraged to come forward. They should stand up and say 'this is happening' rather than just shutting it away.
"There is a very supportive and professional system in place and I cannot thank [investigating officer] DC Rupert Knight enough for how he handled it."
Earlier, Piraino had stood in the witness box and claimed he had never removed any of the complainants' underwear.
Bizarrely, he said that statements he gave during police interviews that he had removed two patients' underwear to their knees had been confusing.
He said he had meant the bottom of their underpants had been pulled to the knee, while the top still covered their genitals.
Piraino was convicted of three charges of sexual activity with a 13-year-old boy and two with a 15-year-old boy. He was also found guilty of five counts of indecent assault on three male patients. A further charge of indecent assault was withdrawn by the prosecution earlier in the trial.
As the verdict was read out to gasps from the public gallery, Piraino remained stony-faced in the dock.
Sentencing was adjourned until January 11 for pre-sentence reports to be prepared.
Piraino must now sign the sex offender's register. Releasing him on bail, Judge Michael Addison said: "The fact that I have put sentencing back for a report and given you bail is no indication as to what the sentence will be."
