Crime & Safety

Former Apple Valley Massage Therapist Sentenced to 11 Years for Sex Crimes

Lawrence Martin Valencour, 62, was convicted in December of six counts of fourth-degree criminal sexual conduct against massage customers.

A former Apple Valley massage therapist was sentenced Monday in Dakota County Court to 11 years in prison for sex crimes he committed against massage customers in 2008.

Lawrence Martin Valencour, 62, was convicted in December of six counts of fourth-degree criminal sexual conduct, which he committed against six women.

Valencour's sentence requires that he serve at least two-thirds of the 132 months—the maximum sentence—in custody at the St. Cloud Correctional Facility, after which he is eligible for supervised release.

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Valencour is required to register as a predatory offender and complete a sex offender treatment program as terms of his sentence. The sentence also includes a $36,000 stayed fine, or $6,000 per count.

"The court is not unmindful of the defendant's situation," Dakota County District Court Judge Thomas Poch said, which includes a history of depression and other medical conditions. "But the court is also well aware … that the defendant is not motivated for treatment.”

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"The effect on the women and on the family members … cannot be minimized," Poch said. "The defendant took advantage of trust.”

Valencour said in court he was "truly sorry" for what he had done.

"I wish to apologize to the women who have put their trust in me to receive a massage," he read from a sheet of paper. "I am ashamed of myself and humbly ask their forgiveness."

According to the Dakota County criminal complaint, Valencour had nonconsensual sexual contact with the six victims when he was scheduled to give them massages.

Four women told police that Valencour had placed his penis in their hands during their massages, the complaint said. Valencour asked one woman to massage her breasts, and he also touched her genital area, according to the complaint. He also made sexual comments to some of the women, the complaint said.

Another woman reported to police that Valencour had massaged her exposed buttocks, and another reported she could feel his penis rub against her thigh during her massage, according to the criminal complaint.

Assistant Dakota County Attorney Kevin Golden asked Monday for the maximum 132-month consecutive prison sentence.

"What the defendent has done had a very broad affect," Golden said, saying the incidents affected victims, their family members, the massage business where Valencour worked—which he said closed after publicity about the case—and the massage therapy profession in general.

Valencour's attorney, Tracy Eichhorn-Hicks, asked for a sentence of probation, time in the workhouse and participation in a treatment program. Valencour's massage therapy license has been revoked, he said.

"I am not in any way minimizing Mr. Valencour's actions," Eichhorn-Hicks said in court.

"He should be punished, but I think that the punishement that is … being asked by the prosecution is inappropriate under the circumstances,” Eichhorn-Hicks said.


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