Woman who sued therapist for sexual assault says she wants justice | Rape and sexual assault

When Ella Janneh was awarded £217,000 in damages in the High Court in a civil case against a TV sex therapist she accused of rape, it was the culmination of an eight-year battle that she says at times almost broke her.

“I don’t think anyone would voluntarily want to make the most humiliating experience of their life public,” she said in an interview with the Guardian, explaining why she continued to seek justice despite all the adversities.

“But this shame is not ours, and I want to make it easier for the next person to talk about it.”

Despite going to the police the day after the alleged rape, her case was not pursued. Two appeals to the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) were rejected and she was denied victim compensation because the police told the CPS she was “not a credible witness”.

“First and foremost, I wanted justice,” said Janneh, now 37. “I wanted to share this story with the world.”

Janneh first saw therapist Michael Lousada in 2011. She had been sexually abused as a child and had not received adequate help to deal with it. She suffered from depression and experienced panic attacks during consensual sex with partners.

“Because I really didn’t understand what was happening to me and it was completely overwhelming and I felt a lot of shame and embarrassment about it, I felt like I needed to get help,” she said.

One day she picked up a copy of the Metro newspaper and read an article about Lousada, in which he said he wanted to offer the services he offered to the NHS. She booked two sessions with him, which was all she could afford at the time, and had no qualms about it.

In the years before she saw Lousada again, she had more traditional talk therapy. “I was in a really good place psychologically and emotionally,” she said. “I was very excited about my future. I was very, very happy with the progress I had made.”

However, she still suffered from panic symptoms during sexual activity, which she “really found difficult to deal with.”

“As a woman in my twenties, I did not want to have these kinds of conversations with sexual partners about my sexual abuse,” she said.

So she began scouring websites for victims of sexual abuse and reading about “bodywork,” which was described as “an emerging field where survivors can find healing.” She remembered having seen Lousada years ago and made another appointment.

After seeing Lousada’s extensive media coverage, she believed he was “an outstanding trauma expert” and paid £750 for the three-hour session in London.

She explained to him how her panic manifested itself: she closed her hands, she was hyperventilating and she could barely speak. She said Lousada did not explain to her what she should expect from the session. “There was nothing, there was no communication from his side,” she said.

She didn’t think the session “would involve anything sexual” and thought “he would treat me the way a doctor or therapist would,” she said.

After a 30-minute conversation, Janneh was led into a room with a bed where she said the rape had taken place.

In documents filed in the High Court, Janneh said Lousada told her his penis was “like a laser beam” that could “burn” and “absorb” trauma. The court heard Lousada did not use a condom, which he did not deny. After hearing the evidence, the judge found Lousada had instructed Ella to revert to her childhood self.

Janneh claimed the incident caused her to have a panic attack, leaving her unable to communicate and “unable to give valid and informed consent.”

In his defence, Lousada admitted penetration had occurred but said he repeatedly received “clear verbal consent” from Janneh, although the judge ruled this was not the case. The judge said he had “no doubt” that Janneh had suffered a “full-blown dissociative panic attack” and that she had been “totally incapable” of consenting to what had happened.

After leaving Lousada’s office, Janneh said, she “came to her senses” and called her friend on the train, but then realized she couldn’t talk about what had happened and hung up.

“When I got to the station I started to realise what had happened and I called her and started screaming, at Dalston Kingsland station (in east London), up on the platform.

“I just started screaming and then I hung up, went right across the street and bought myself a bottle, went home and just turned my phone off because I couldn’t talk to anyone.”

She added: “I felt completely and utterly humiliated, more humiliated than I had been as a child, because this abuse was being used against me.”

The next morning, after barely sleeping, she turned her phone back on and called the sexual assault emergency number as soon as it opened. “I just started screaming again,” she said.

That same day, she reported Lousada to the Metropolitan Police, who launched a rape investigation. Janneh claimed there were shortcomings in the way the investigation was conducted, describing it as poor evidence gathering and officers repeatedly getting her name wrong.

Following the police investigation, the case was referred to the CPS, but she was told Lousada would not be prosecuted. In a letter, the agency told her that the issues surrounding consent were too difficult for a jury to understand.

“I absolutely did not feel that justice had been done,” she said. “I just couldn’t understand how this could go on, and I just couldn’t stand that this could go on.”

“I wanted to die. I was so miserable, so destroyed, I almost lost my mind. I went into a room that was supposed to be therapeutic and everything was turned upside down.”

She said she broke down after CPS dropped the case. The same week she received the final decision, she found out she was pregnant. She said she was “so heartbroken by the decision” that she felt she could not continue the pregnancy: “I was so filled with grief that I didn’t think it was fair to try to raise a child.”

She had an abortion and then said: “I started drinking and taking drugs. It was total destruction, I had no self-esteem anymore.”

Eventually, Janneh found a job at a cafe and started seeing a therapist. She also applied for compensation from the Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority, but she said her application was rejected “on the grounds that the police had testified against me… claiming I was a conflicting witness.”

By now it was 2019. Although she had exhausted all criminal options, Janneh said, “I couldn’t let it go.” Lousada, she said, was still working as a therapist and appearing in the media.

Janneh was on a waiting list for support from an independent advocate for victims of sexual violence, a service that guides people through the criminal justice system. It was only then that she learned she might be able to file a civil lawsuit. While criminal cases require evidence to be presented “beyond a reasonable doubt,” civil cases can be decided on the basis of probabilities. “For the first time in this time, I felt like someone was listening to me,” she said.

“It was really important for me to finally get into that courtroom to do what I needed to do. I had worked really hard to get there.

“I have asked the police and prosecutors to really justify their decision not to bring this man to justice. I could not rely on them, and thousands of other victims could not rely on them… The system is completely inadequate to deal with rape.”

Catriona Rubens of Leigh Day Solicitors, who represented Janneh, said: “In a system where so few reports of rape to the police result in prosecutions, we urgently need to address the legal and cultural oppression of victims and survivors. By standing up and speaking out, Ella has helped to break that silence.”

Lousada, 57, said: “I have told both the police and the court what happened that day and you will understand that I am very disappointed that my evidence was rejected. I no longer engage in this type of work and have not done so since the incident in question.

“I wanted to help Ms. Janneh and never intended to harm her. I have always regretted the outcome and the impact on her and wish her all the best for the future.”

A CPS spokesman said: “We recognise the devastating impact rape has on victims. That is why every case is investigated by specialist prosecutors who are committed to bringing perpetrators to justice wherever possible.

“Criminal and civil cases require different standards of proof. In criminal cases, we must prove beyond a reasonable doubt that a person is guilty and, after carefully reviewing the evidence in this case, we concluded that there was no realistic prospect of conviction – a decision later confirmed by two independent reviews.

“We are continually working to improve the treatment of all rape cases. Our suspect-centered approach means we always focus on the behavior and actions of the suspect, not the victim.”

Police Commander Kevin Southworth, responsible for protecting the public, said: “We are committed to providing the best possible service and take allegations of rape and sexual assault seriously, so we are concerned when we hear that someone feels let down.”

“While there is currently no active police investigation underway, in light of the outcome of the civil proceedings, we are reviewing the information available to us and will also consider any new details that come to light during the course of the civil proceedings.”

• Information and support for anyone affected by rape or sexual abuse is available from the following organisations. In the UK, Rape Crisis offers support on 0808 500 2222 in England and Wales, 0808 801 0302 in Scotland or 0800 0246 991 in Northern Ireland. In the US, Rainn offers support on 800-656-4673. In Australia, support is available on 1800Respect (1800 737 732). For more international helplines, visit ibiblio.org/rcip/internl.html