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Hypnotherapist admits sexual assault on client
newsdesk@cambridge-news.co.uk
A HYPNOTHERAPIST who told a woman he hypnotised to remove her trousers and expose her breasts admitted sexual assault yesterday.
Stephen Barker, 61, put his 32-year-old victim into a trance-like state before sexually assaulting her on December 18, 2008.
Married Barker had been seeing the woman for weekly therapy sessions since October 2008 because she had confidence issues and wanted to lose weight.
However, as the sessions progressed he gradually started to ask her deeply personal questions about her sexual experiences which he recorded in a notebook.
Barker, from Harwich, Essex, pleaded guilty to one count of sexual assault at Cambridge Crown Court yesterday.
Barker, who ran West Cambridge Hypnotherapy from an address in Hardwick, had told the woman a “sexual matter was at the route of her problems”.
In her early visits he started to ask the woman about her first sexual experiences while she was under hypnosis and asked her to describe them in detail.
As the visits went on he told the woman “she needed to express past emotions” in order to gain his trust.
By their ninth meeting on December 9, 2008, he pressured the woman to pull up her top and touch her breasts at which point she became “confused and concerned”.
The following week he hypnotised the woman as she lay on his sofa before asking her to remove her bra and touch her left breast.
When she refused he put his hand on the breast himself.
He then committed an act of sexual assault. At that point the woman realised she was half naked and fled the house feeling “ashamed and embarrassed”.
After three months of "worrying" she finally contacted Cambridgeshire police.
Barker was arrested and interviewed on March 11 and denied the charges until changing his plea just moments before the trial was due to begin yesterday.
He was granted bail under curfew until January 8 for sentencing at Cambridge Crown Court.
A HYPNOTHERAPIST who told a woman he hypnotised to remove her trousers and expose her breasts admitted sexual assault yesterday.
Stephen Barker, 61, put his 32-year-old victim into a trance-like state before sexually assaulting her on December 18, 2008.
Married Barker had been seeing the woman for weekly therapy sessions since October 2008 because she had confidence issues and wanted to lose weight.
However, as the sessions progressed he gradually started to ask her deeply personal questions about her sexual experiences which he recorded in a notebook.
Barker, from Harwich, Essex, pleaded guilty to one count of sexual assault at Cambridge Crown Court yesterday.
Barker, who ran West Cambridge Hypnotherapy from an address in Hardwick, had told the woman a “sexual matter was at the route of her problems”.
In her early visits he started to ask the woman about her first sexual experiences while she was under hypnosis and asked her to describe them in detail.
As the visits went on he told the woman “she needed to express past emotions” in order to gain his trust.
By their ninth meeting on December 9, 2008, he pressured the woman to pull up her top and touch her breasts at which point she became “confused and concerned”.
The following week he hypnotised the woman as she lay on his sofa before asking her to remove her bra and touch her left breast.
When she refused he put his hand on the breast himself.
He then committed an act of sexual assault. At that point the woman realised she was half naked and fled the house feeling “ashamed and embarrassed”.
After three months of "worrying" she finally contacted Cambridgeshire police.
Barker was arrested and interviewed on March 11 and denied the charges until changing his plea just moments before the trial was due to begin yesterday.
He was granted bail under curfew until January 8 for sentencing at Cambridge Crown Court.
Replies are closed for this discussion.
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Susan French on -
I'll say the same thing I said before on the other post. Yuchh----blecchhhhh---disgusto illrepute....pig...throw away the key.
However, I've had a better thought since then. Jail is the perfect place for a man (usually, though not always) who doesn't "get" how revolting it is to be touched inappropriately or without permission or sexually scammed in any way.
Using this means of "punishment fitting the crime" will let this a***h***e to discover first hand, up close and personal and in a way he will NEVER forget. Put him in Gen Pop. Let the other cons know he's a sexual predator and leave him in Gen Pop for 6 months or so.
My guess: HE WILL NEVER PUT HIS HANDS ON ANOTHER WOMAN (OR MAN) WITHOUT GETTING PERMISSION!!!!!!!!!!!
I'm sorry he was granted bail. If he had to stay with those gang members fighting over his virginal ass he'd never do it to anyone else again.
My 2 cents
susan
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Permalink Reply by Doreen Cohanim C.Ht on -
Unfortunately people use hypnosis to take advantage of some people, these people do exist, I mean the sexual predator, I used to work for a Honda dealership many years a go, one of the sales person was harassing me, I placed a complaint and quit my job, and started working for another Honda dealership, apparently this guy was fired after I quit, since costumers had similar complaints to mine, then I saw him taking Hypnosis training at HMI.
I even saw him touching other Lady's behind, pinching and squeezing in a friendly matter and they loved him, when he recognized me and he made a real scene yelling at me and accusing me that I was responsible for him losing his Job, which I wasn't, and the reason he was fired, because other costumers made a complain, It was way after I left.
Any ways, I am not going to get into it, and I did complain about this man, at first it was a misunderstanding and the matter was ignored, but I made sure that I was going to be safe and protected there, after all this man is also in his 60's, thanks god, did not see him again... unfortunately there are people that will use their talent to abuse some people, and this man was already in trouble when he was in the entertainment business way before he became a car seals man and now is a hypnotherapist...
Who knows, I may get in trouble for writing this, but I will keep my eyes wide open to people who say the wrong thing during hypnosis, especially if it is not related.
Other person who I have known, Is also a hypnotist, and he does his talent to take advantage of young collage and high school student's, I just hope when they do something stupid, they will be caught, that's all I wish for them.
Also, this is to confirm that not everyone can become a victim of hypnosis, since their mind knows better, unless they are somnambulist and high suggestible to suggestions.
Susan, This old guy which I will not use his Name, is also had allegation and complaints from younger boys, not just clients from our job place, and the surprising part was, that he was really kind and funny, and someone who was married, he has kids and grandchild or even more.
Susan, I am sure this people cannot hide, unless they quit and got some help.
Respectfully, Doreen Cohanim C.Ht
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Permalink Reply by Vincent Zimmerman on -
Susan, I agree wholeheartedly with you. In my opinion, there's nothing lower or more repugnant than sexual predators. They all deserve a form of punishment we ourselves can't inflict on them without sinking to their base level. It's sad, really, that these people have allowed themselves to become so debased and perverted. What they do to their victims is worse than merely killing them, because these victims have to live with a pain and humiliation that's hard to put into words. Their lives are destroyed, they suffer intensely from psychological scarring which a lot of them don't recover from. The sexual predator can't be made to suffer what their victims suffer because they aren't fully human anymore. They're something less, and in my opinion they all should serve life sentences.
Susan French said:I'll say the same thing I said before on the other post. Yuchh----blecchhhhh---disgusto illrepute....pig...throw away the key. However, I've had a better thought since then. Jail is the perfect place for a man (usually, though not always) who doesn't "get" how revolting it is to be touched inappropriately or without permission or sexually scammed in any way.
Using this means of "punishment fitting the crime" will let this a***h***e to discover first hand, up close and personal and in a way he will NEVER forget. Put him in Gen Pop. Let the other cons know he's a sexual predator and leave him in Gen Pop for 6 months or so.
My guess: HE WILL NEVER PUT HIS HANDS ON ANOTHER WOMAN (OR MAN) WITHOUT GETTING PERMISSION!!!!!!!!!!!
I'm sorry he was granted bail. If he had to stay with those gang members fighting over his virginal ass he'd never do it to anyone else again.
My 2 cents
susan
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Permalink Reply by Conrad Cook on -
Yeah, that guy clearly crossed the line.
Susan, since you clearly enjoy spewing hatred, why not do it in trance, where you can really enjoy it?
Conrad.
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Permalink Reply by Mark Miles on -
This guy is bad news! Things like this hurt hypnosis and give it a bad name, I usually record the session on tape with woman just in case! I know Jerald has a camera to record the whole session i always have another person present when using therapy for woman this helps cover your Xss just in case.
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Permalink Reply by Sean Michael Andrews C.H. C.I. - WorldsFastestHypnotist.com on -
I agree with you, Mark. I video record every session. I think it makes my clients feel safer.
Sean Michael Andrews
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Permalink Reply by GIL BOYNE on
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Mark said "Things like this hurt hypnosis and give it a bad name"
Mark, I can help you to see the positive side of these news stories; First--it tells the public that subjects do remember and villians do get caught and pay the price. Second-It tells every therapist reading the story that they can ruin their lives and their families very existence by their stupid, asinine and criminal behaviour. Please note that this character used the approach of,"Tell me all about your sexual life and fantasies and it will help to cure whatever ails you".Shades of Sigmund Freud!
The client was not naive! She was unknowing and trusting and did seek additional information. Perhaps, sometime I will tell the story of a family man I trained who was arrested on this kind of charge. I was an expert witness for the prosecution and I watched his wife and children crying in the courtroom as he was sentenced to NINE years in prison. I say to all therapists,"Don't destroy your life and the lives of those you love by such behaviours" ( I also recognize the emotional damage that is inflicted on the client)
PS I know of three cases where large cash settlements were made by hypnotherapists to settle the civil (damages) case out-of-court and avoid criminal charges.
Mark Miles said:This guy is bad news! Things like this hurt hypnosis and give it a bad name, I usually record the session on tape with woman just in case! I know Jerald has a camera to record the whole session i always have another person present when using therapy for woman this helps cover your Xss just in case.
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Permalink Reply by Conrad Cook on
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Susan French said:I'll say the same thing I said before on the other post. Yuchh----blecchhhhh---disgusto illrepute....pig...throw away the key.
However, I've had a better thought since then. Jail is the perfect place for a man (usually, though not always) who doesn't "get" how revolting it is to be touched inappropriately or without permission or sexually scammed in any way.
Using this means of "punishment fitting the crime" will let this a***h***e to discover first hand, up close and personal and in a way he will NEVER forget. Put him in Gen Pop. Let the other cons know he's a sexual predator and leave him in Gen Pop for 6 months or so.
My guess: HE WILL NEVER PUT HIS HANDS ON ANOTHER WOMAN (OR MAN) WITHOUT GETTING PERMISSION!!!!!!!!!!!
I'm sorry he was granted bail. If he had to stay with those gang members fighting over his virginal ass he'd never do it to anyone else again.
My 2 cents
susan
Going off on a tangent here -- this really bothers me, for a couple reasons.
First, Susan, you're pandering to and reinforcing homophobia and the image of gays as sexual predators. These are ideas that gay rights people have been fighting for decades. The fact that they still have cultural currency is one of the primary reasons gays can't marry each other in the States. And you shouldn't be perpetuating that kind of bias.
Second -- clearly, the person who wrote this shouldn't be doing hypnotherapy. Susan, what will you do when your prospective clients Google your name and read this? What kind of hypnotherapist will they think you are?
Conrad.
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Permalink Reply by Conrad Cook on
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Sean Michael Andrews C.H. C.I. - WorldsFastestHypnotist.com said:I agree with you, Mark. I video record every session. I think it makes my clients feel safer.
Sean Michael Andrews
How do you frame that when you have that discussion with them?
C.
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Permalink Reply by Alan117 on -
First, Susan, you're pandering to and reinforcing homophobia and the image of gays as sexual predators.
I'm not getting that impression. Some guys do get raped in prison after all. Barker's 61 so I don't think it's likely to happen to him.
Second -- clearly, the person who wrote this shouldn't be doing hypnotherapy.
You seem to be questioning her character. Is it so wrong for her intense dislike of sexual predators?
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Permalink Reply by Conrad Cook on
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Alan117 said:
First, Susan, you're pandering to and reinforcing homophobia and the image of gays as sexual predators.
I'm not getting that impression. Some guys do get raped in prison after all. Barker's 61 so I don't think it's likely to happen to him.
With the anatomically vivid image of gay sex? Is she not?
Second -- clearly, the person who wrote this shouldn't be doing hypnotherapy.
You seem to be questioning her character. Is it so wrong for her intense dislike of sexual predators?
Would you want to hand your emotional well-being over to someone who spews hatred on the internet? Wouldn't you worry that she might have an emotional incontinence moment while she has you in trance, and screw you up?
Is the image of gleefully cheering on a prison-rape one that you consider adds to, or detracts from, a person's authority as a hypnotherapist?
C.
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Permalink Reply by Susan French on
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Alan, I wasn't saying anything about gayness at all. You missed my point, a point I made before on this subject. I had a similar discussion with someone else about a similar attempt and I was trying to make a point.
The point was about having a person experience being touched sexually in a situation that would not be preferred by them. If you're straight, which these guys obviously were, it might be a bit offensive to be grabbed by another guy because they obviously wouldn't "get it" if the point was made by saying "what if a woman touched you in that way?" The people (usually guys) who don't seem to understand that sexual invasion has more emotional ramifications than say, other kinds of personal assault.
If someone, for instance, didn't "get" how disgusting it would be, perhaps, to be touched at all by someone who obviously didn't bathe often and who's hands were really gross. If they don't "get" it, perhaps they need to experience something that would create a similar effect in that person.
What I find, often, though, is that some people have a harder time than others empathizing with what others might feel. Perhaps that's all that this is about.
When someone doesn't "get" that sexual assault or invasion has a very traumatic effect, perhaps they need to experience it in order to "get it." Why not?
Perhaps people can't comment until they've experienced it first hand???
Interestingly enough, there are also folks who don't understand why bullying is traumatic and harmful either.
And BTW: are you defending this guy? Are you saying that what he did wasn't so bad? Are you saying that perhaps the woman brought it on herself? Is that what the discussion is about?
Truthfully, my reaction is more about people that don't "get it" than it it is about retribution or revenge. I just really have a hard time with people who don't "get it."
Respectfully however,
Susan
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