For a three-hour session at his clinic in Belsize Park, in north London, Mike Lousada charged £750 (at the time equivalent to $1,025). He branded himself a sexual therapist, claiming he had pioneered “a new approach”. Ella Janneh went to him for help with trauma she had experienced after being sexually abused as a child. According to court documents, she alleged that during the session he raped and sexually assaulted her; he denied this and claimed she gave her consent. During the alleged assault, she said in court, he told her that his penis was like a “laser beam”—one that could “burn up” and “absorb” trauma. She reported the incident to the police in 2016, but the Crown Prosecution Service decided not to press charges, after which Ms Janneh brought a civil claim against Mr Lousada.