020 7650 1200

Ella Janneh wins her civil claim for sexual assault against sex therapist Mike Lousada

A High Court judge has ruled that there was “no doubt” that Ella Janneh’s account of rape and sexual assault by sex therapist Mike Lousada was true.

In a judgment handed down today, Wednesday 19 June 2024, Mr Justice Jeremy Baker ruled that on 18 August 2016, Mr Lousada penetrated Ella with his fingers and penis without her consent, at his clinic in Belsize Park, London NW3. The judge said it was a negligent breach of the duty of care owed to Ella by Mr Lousada, a therapist. 

He ruled that there was “no doubt” that the core of what Ella told police - when she reported that she had been raped by Mr Lousada - was a truthful factual account of what happened. 

 

Ella Janneh

Ella, pictured, who waived her right to anonymity, brought a civil claim against the renowned sex therapist after the Crown Prosecution Service refused to pursue the case in 2018. 

The technical term the judge ruled on in Ella’s civil claim is trespass to the person. Her pleaded case was that Mike Lousada raped and sexually assaulted her. 

Mr Justice Baker said that Mr Lousada had instructed Ella to regress into her childhood self as an abused child, and then touched her, which caused her to become dissociated and have a panic attack. The judge found that Ella lacked capacity to consent, and that Mr Lousada had not sought her consent to the sexual acts. The judge ruled that this had caused Ella Complex-Post Traumatic Stress Disorder and awarded Ella over £200,000 in damages, with further damages to be decided.  

The judge entirely rejected Mr Lousada’s account that Ella had consented and that his use of penile and digital penetration was a reasonable treatment method for Ella’s presenting problem.  

He found that Mike Lousada had an "unswerving belief in his ability to heal women through sexual practices” and that his “overwhelming self confidence” in his ability to “heal” women affected his perception of reality. Rather than accept his own responsibility, the judge noted that Mr Lousada had “sought to suggest that Ella was responsible for what took place”. 

Ella said of the ruling: “It is my hope in coming out publicly - sharing my face and my story - that I can encourage other victims to speak their truth.” 

In 2016 Ella had sought therapy with Mr Lousada to address panic attacks she experienced during consensual sex, which were a result of the sexual abuse she had suffered as a child. 

Ella booked the session expecting bodywork to be something akin to a combination of breathwork, trigger point massage and medical/therapeutic touch, as ‘bodywork’ is commonly described.   

She believed Mike Lousada to be an expert in his field due to his description of his therapy and his self-reported experience of working with traumatised clients with a history of sexual abuse. She had read that he had attempted to bring his trademarked therapy [Psychosexual Somatics Therapy™] to the NHS.   

Mr Justice Baker accepted Ella’s account that during this session, without warning, Mike Lousada instructed her to embody her child self being sexually abused, causing her to have a panic attack, with clear physical symptoms. 

Mike Lousada began to penetrate her digitally, using his saliva as lubricant, and with his penis without wearing a condom. In court Mike Lousada defended these acts as part of his therapy and denied that Ella was experiencing a panic attack. 
 
Following the assault, Ella contacted a sexual assault service and on 20 August 2016 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. 

In 2019 Ella was referred to abuse solicitor Catriona Rubens at law firm Leigh Day by the Centre for Women’s Justice (CWJ) to pursue a case via the civil justice system. 

Ella attended Derby Crown Court to hear Mr Justice Baker deliver his judgment that her claim was successful.  

After the judgment was given, Ella Janneh said:  

“After an eight-year fight I’m proud to have achieved the beginnings of accountability against Mike Lousada and what he did to me. But it has taken everything in me to get here. 

“Like thousands of victims, I have been completely betrayed by the police and CPS. It is so deeply unfair that I, Mike Lousada’s victim, had to sacrifice eight years in the hopes of stopping him from harming anyone else. I have had to do the work of institutions that failed to support me. 

“I dedicate this to every victim who was turned away by the police, the CPS, their caregivers or their loved ones. 

"Regardless of this verdict, I hope that in coming out publicly that I can encourage other victims to speak their truth no matter what. I’m proud of what I have done and I will not stop fighting for justice.” 

Catriona Rubens, Ella’s solicitor from Leigh Day, said:

“This judgment is a resounding victory for my client Ella Janneh, who has fought tirelessly to seek justice for Mr Lousada’s rape and sexual assault of her in the name of “therapy”. 

“Ella has faced many battles since the session on 18 August 2016: with the police, the Crown Prosecution Service, and now against Mr Lousada directly through the civil claim. She has been unable to speak freely until now, after a full civil trial in open court.  

“Despite visible physical symptoms of her panic attack, which the court found would have been “obvious” to Mr Lousada, he proceeded to penetrate Ella’s vagina with his fingers whilst using his spit, and then penetrate her with his penis, without wearing a condom. Only Ella truly knows how terrifying this was. 

“I am very pleased that the judge entirely rejected Mike Lousada’s portrayal of Ella as an active participant in the rape and sexual assault, when, in fact, she was suffering a full blown panic attack and lacked capacity to consent. It is also right that the award of damages reflects the fact that Mr Lousada sought to blame Ella for what happened on 18 August 2016.  

“By waiving her right to anonymity, and giving evidence against Mr Lousada in court, Ella has stood up for all survivors of abuse and sexual violence. Serious questions now need to be asked of the system: the police, the CPS, and the fact that therapists like Mike Lousada can act outside any form of regulatory or ethical framework. 

“It must not be left to survivors like Ella to fight individual civil claims, at huge personal cost, in order to bring sexual violence and abuse of power to light.  

“It has been a complete privilege to represent Ella. This result would not have been possible without Nina Ross, Ella’s barrister, who advocated so brilliantly for Ella in court, and all the witnesses who came forwards to support Ella.”

Anna Mazzola, solicitor at the Centre for Women’s Justice, said: 

“Ella showed incredible strength in pursuing this legal case against the therapist who was supposed to help her, but instead abused her. The case should have been prosecuted by the Crown Prosecution Service. Instead, she was left to fight her own battle and get accountability not only for herself, but for other women. We thank Leigh Day for bringing this important challenge."

This claim was brought in the civil court, for damages for assault and negligence. The civil legal test for rape is based on whether or not the claimant consented in fact to penetration of her vagina (on the civil standard of proof). This differs from the criminal legal test for rape, which also requires the prosecution to prove that the Defendant did not reasonably believe that the victim was consenting (on the criminal standard of proof).    

Ella’s case on consent was based on: (i) that he was in a position of power over her, in the context of a therapy session and where he had asked her to regress to her child self who had been abused; (ii) that Mr Lousada did not provide her with the necessary information or warning about the sexual acts; (iii) that she suffered a panic attack, dissociation and deregularisation such that she did not have capacity to consent.  

Ella’s claim was heard over 10 days at the Royal Courts of Justice in London in April and May 2024. Judgment was given at Derby Crown Court on Wednesday 19 June 2024. 

Catriona Rubens instructed barrister Nina Ross of 12 Kings Bench Walk Chambers.

Profile
Cat Rubens
Abuse claims Human rights

Catriona Rubens

Catriona Rubens is a senior associate solicitor in the abuse team.

News Article
Ella Janneh
Human rights Abuse

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

A survivor of child sexual abuse is bringing a civil claim against a sex therapist, alleging that he raped and sexually assaulted her during a therapy session to treat panic attacks she experienced during consensual sex.

Landing Page
Small Boy Head Hidden

Abuse and exploitation claims

Acting on behalf of those who have suffered abuse