Child sexual abuse survivor brings civil legal claim against sex therapist for alleged sex assault and rape

She went to Michael Lousada to treat panic attacks she experienced during consensual sex.

Ella Janneh, aged 37, who has waived her right to anonymity, is bringing claims for assault, including rape, and negligence against Michael Lousada and Anteros Books Ltd, a company where Mr Lousada was a director. 

She has filed her claim at the High Court and a civil trial began on Friday 19 April 2024, for six days. 

Ella, who has worked over many years to recover from the psychological and physical trauma caused by sexual abuse she experienced as a child, claims that on 18 August 2016, Michael Lousada sexually assaulted and raped her at his clinic in Belsize Park, London NW3. 

Ella’s case also argues that the assault was a negligent breach of the duty of care owed to her by a therapist. 

Mr Lousada says Ella consented to the sexual activity that took place at his clinic. He says the claim should have been filed sooner and is now out of date. 

Mr Lousada had provided therapy to Ella five years earlier, in 2011 and 2012. Following those two sessions Ella continued to suffer with panic attacks triggered by consensual sexual activity. 

She kept going with talking therapy and felt better able to cope with the psychological consequences of her child sexual abuse, but her panic attacks during sexual activity did not subside. 

She began to read information about ‘body work’ on websites and forums for survivors of child sexual abuse.  For example, some of the material on the practice of “body work” mentioned shiatsu massage and trigger point therapy. She understood body work to be non-sexual but consensual touching of the body by a therapist, at the same time as the therapist providing talking therapy, to help the client identify and treat triggers caused by physical touch, in a controlled and therapeutic environment. 

Ella’s case states that she began to consider engaging Mr Lousada’s services again. She spoke to Mr Lousada on the phone on 9 August 2016 and told him that she continued to suffer from dissociative panic attacks particularly during penetrative sexual activity that she related to her child sexual abuse. Mr Lousada told her that he had “done a lot of work on sexual abuse” over the previous few years.  

On Mr Lousada’s website he explained that he had helped to found the Association of Somatic and Integrative Sexologists (ASIS), through which he said he was insured and was bound by its Code of Ethics. Its Code of Ethics states ASIS’ primary goal is the welfare and protection of the individuals and groups with whom members work. The Code said that members agree to obtain both verbal and written consent from clients before engaging in any form of bodywork.  

The legal claim states Mr Lousada said he would provide ‘body work’ during any future session with Ella, but provided no details of what it would entail. An appointment was made for on 18 August 2016 and Ella paid £750 in advance. 

The claim states that after she arrived at the clinic at 2pm, Ella repeated to Mr Lousada that she had continued to suffer panic attacks during sexual activity and that she had not been able to process the full extent of the child sexual abuse and its effects on her life. She said the worst panic attacks she was experiencing were linked to penetration during sexual activity with partners. 

During the body work session that followed, Ella says that Mr Lousada instructed her to embody her child self who was being abused. She began to feel the onset of panic symptoms. 

Ella’s claim argues that Mr Lousada then subjected her to a series of physical acts, that included sexual assault (digital penetration) and culminated in rape. 

She says Mr Lousada gave limited verbal warning. He accepts that he did not wear a condom or ask her about using a condom and used saliva as a lubricant. 

In his Defence, Mr Lousada states that Ella came to see him for a “sexual healing” session rather than traditional therapy, and that he obtained her consent validly to all the sexual acts. He maintains that the use of penile and digital penetration was a reasonable treatment method for her presenting problem. 

In her legal claim, in documents filed with the High Court, Ella says her panic attack and symptoms involved visible physical symptoms, including clenching her hands, shaking, opening and closing her eyes repeatedly, her mouth clamping or locking shut, and irregular breathing. She states she was unable to communicate fully and was incapable of providing valid and informed consent to the sexual and physical acts. 

The following day, Ella contacted a sexual assault service and on 20 August gave a statement to the Metropolitan Police. Nineteen months later, in May 2018, the Crown Prosecution Service informed Ella it would not be pursuing a criminal prosecution. 

Ella Janneh is represented by Leigh Day solicitor Catriona Rubens who said: 

"Ella has spent the past eight years of her life trying to achieve justice in this case and we hope the courts will bring the answers she needs. As she told the court, she specifically sought Mr Lousada’s services for help with her panic attacks arising from her child sexual abuse. Ella’s case raises many other issues around the unregulated practice of therapy, including for abuse survivors, and we hope the examination of these by the court will lead to much needed change in this area.”