Victims speak as ex-massage therapist for KU athletes is sentenced to life for sex crimes

Shawn O’Brien, a former massage therapist who worked with University of Kansas athletes, was given a life sentence with no possibility of parole for 25 years Friday after having been found guilty at trial of sex crimes involving student-athletes and a minor child.

O’Brien, of Lawrence, was convicted of three felonies of aggravated indecent liberties with a child plus five misdemeanors of sexual battery last month. He was accused of touching a girl under 14 years old in his home and also inappropriately touching his massage clients at his place of business while working for the Kansas Jayhawks women’s soccer team, prosecutors said.

Douglas County District Court Judge Sally Pokorny, in her sentencing, said that O’Brien also must serve five separate 12-month stints in county jail for each of the five misdemeanor sexual battery charges. That means, at minimum, the 50-year-old O’Brien will serve 30 years.

Pokorny explained her decision to make O’Brien serve those charges consecutively, saying, “I believe each person that has been named should have a separate sentence (related to her case).”

Pokorny also stated that if O’Brien is ever released, he will have lifetime supervision and electronic monitoring.

The sentencing concluded an emotional 90 minutes in the courtroom, as victims presented statements sharing their experiences while also making clear the strength they had shown to come forward and persevere.

Three former KU soccer players wrote letters that were read aloud by district attorney Suzanne Valdez and assistant DA Joshua Seiden. The first soccer player wrote about how for three years, her words were silenced. She wrote she felt frozen and powerless as O’Brien choked her, pulled her hair and touched her beneath her underwear and bra.

The woman blamed KU Athletics for “faulty athletic administration” and wrote she had suffered severe depression and anxiety after the incident. She reported times when she would stay up all night, simply so O’Brien’s face wouldn’t haunt her in the form of night terrors.

She wrote she took comfort in O’Brien’s day of sentencing.

“Your reality now is a real-life nightmare,” she wrote.

A second former KU soccer player wrote she was frozen with fear during her encounter with O’Brien, which happened three years ago. She wrote she had looked forward to getting a massage — KU soccer players at the time had to play a certain number of minutes to receive “recovery” massages — but afterwards she called a suicide hotline at one point because of the emotional toll.

A third former KU soccer player wrote she was let down by KU Athletics, saying “I trusted they were there to protect me.” She wrote she had suffered panic attacks and in part was “angry at an institution that failed to protect their athletes.”

That player’s mother also wrote a statement, saying she believed the worst day of her life would always be the day 30 years ago when she was sexually assaulted. Instead, it wasn’t; it was the day her daughter called her to report what O’Brien had done.

“(The soccer players) were failed by an athletic system that was supposed to take care of them,” the mother wrote. “We can’t allow the justice system to fail also.”

O’Brien’s minor victim also spoke on her own behalf in the courtroom, speaking directly to O’Brien while saying she was disgusted every time she looked at him. She questioned how he could harm other women and girls as a father of five himself, before saying, “I hope other prisoners bruise you the way you dented us.”

“In the most disrespectful way possible, I hope you rot in hell,” she said.

Each of the victims included in their statements the bravery needed to step forward, while also saying they were speaking for others hurt by O’Brien who were going through similar trauma while not reporting it.

Pokorny, before the sentencing, asked O’Brien if he had a comment before she ruled.

“I really don’t have anything to say,” he said. “There was no ill intent on my part, so I’ll apologize for any misunderstanding.”

O’Brien received a life sentence for each of the first three felony counts of aggravated indecent liberties with a child, with Pokorny ordering that those be served concurrently.

“These sentences can’t erase what happened to the survivors,” Valdez said in a release. “But I hope the strong message from the court can restore their sense of empowerment, safety and justice. My office will not tolerate abuses of power and trust such as the actions by Mr. O’Brien.”

Before the criminal allegations came to light, O’Brien had been contracted by KU Athletics to provide massage services to women’s athletics teams since 2015, according to university officials.

An internal investigation was later opened by the university in March 2020 after O’Brien was charged with the child sex crime.

Over the course of that investigation, KU officials found at least six women’s athletes who reported inappropriate conduct, including unwanted touching by O’Brien. According to the investigation, at least one of the university’s athletic trainers was aware of some of the allegations but failed to appropriately report it.

Other findings later publicly released by university officials included O’Brien’s history of providing free massages to the general student body during KU Alumni’s “Finals Dinner” events between 2011 and 2019. He gave out gift cards that “may have led to off-campus massages at his office,” KU said at the time.

O’Brien was listed as operating Kamehameha Massage LLC, according to Kansas business records. He owned the business starting in 2009. It dissolved in February 2019 because O’Brien became the “sole proprietor,” according to state records.

If you or someone you know needs help, the Kansas Crisis Hotline can be reached at 1-888-363-2287.

The Star’s Bill Lukitsch and Katie Bernard contributed to this report.