Burnaby medical aesthetics provider sentenced to 11 years for sexual assault

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The owner of a medical aesthetics business has been sentenced to 11 years in prison for sexually assaulting several clients, according to a judge’s ruling published online Sept. 25.

Last year, a jury found Farshad Khojsteh Kashani guilty of seven counts of sexual assault, each relating to a separate client.

In each of the seven cases, the client went to Kashani for a vaginal rejuvenation procedure using a HIFU machine, according to the ruling. The judge says all of the victims reported that the machine’s wand was used on them in an appropriate way. As well, several of the victims reported that Kashani used sexually explicit language as they were being assaulted.

Five of the victims reported significant physical pain during the sexual assaults.

According to the ruling, a psychological assessment indicated Kashani appeared to have problems related to “minimization and denial of sexual violence.”

“The assessor identified some factors that have been associated with sexual reoffending as being present,” the judge wrote.

“These included the chronicity of the offending, which included multiple acts against seven women; the use of psychological coercion through exploitation of his position of trust; his minimization of the sexual violence; and his limited self-awareness.”

Overall, the judge said, Kashani represents a “moderate risk of reoffending while providing intimate procedures within a clinical or quasi-clinical setting without oversight or supervision.”

Kashani must pay a “victim surcharge” of $200 per count, totalling $1,400.

He is also required to register as a sex offender for 20 years.

Kashani is not a licensed medical doctor in Canada. He is 52 years old and was in his mid-40s when the offences took place.

He has been in custody since April.