'I wanted justice' - Years-long fight of woman who sued therapist over sexual assault

When Ella Janneh was awarded £217,000 in damages in the high court after a civil case against a TV sex therapist she accused of raping her, it was the culmination of an eight-year fight that she said at times had almost broken her.

- Hannah Al-Othman

“I don’t think anybody chooses to make the most humiliating experience of their life something to be publicly known for,” she said in an interview with the Guardian, explaining why she continued to pursue justice despite the odds.

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

Despite going to the police the day after the alleged rape, her case was not prosecuted. Two appeals to the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) were dismissed and she was denied criminal injuries compensation because police told the awarding body she was “not a credible witness”.

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

Janneh first saw the therapist, Michael Lousada, in 2011. She had been sexually abused as a child, and did not receive proper help to process this. It had left her with depression, as well as suffering panic attacks during consensual sexual activity with partners.

“Because I really did not understand what was happening to me and it was really overwhelming, and I experienced 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 bring the services he offered to the NHS. She booked two sessions with him, which was all she could afford at the time, and did not have any concerns arising from those.

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