Convicted Burnaby sex offender out on bail pending appeal: BCPS

WARNING: The following story may contain graphic content and descriptions, which some readers may find disturbing. Discretion is advised.

The owner of a medical aesthetics business was recently released from custody after he filed an appeal against his September sexual assault conviction, for which he was sentenced to 11 years in prison.

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 said all of the victims reported that the machine’s wand was used on them in an inappropriate 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 published in September, 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 was ordered to pay a “victim surcharge” of $200 per count, totalling $1,400.

He was 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 had been in custody since April, but the BC Prosecution Service (BCPS) confirms that Kashani filed an appeal against the ruling and his sentencing.

In late November, the Court of Appeal ordered that he could be released pending the appeal, and the court finalized the conditions of his bail on Dec. 2.

“Among other things, the bail conditions prohibit him from having contact with the victims and require him to abide by 24-hour house arrest, and to surrender all his expired and unexpired passports, visas, and travel documents. The release order requires the deposit of $150,000 in cash with the Court registry, as well as a surety pledge of $400,000,” explained a BCPS spokesperson.

The service says a date for Kashani’s appeal has not been set yet.