The Daily News is reporting that a British court found psychic Karl Lang guilty on 12 counts of causing women to engage in sexual activity without their consent. Lang told police that "letting go" was imperative to achieving spiritualism and if the girls wished to strip "it was their problem."
During the trial, Lang told the jury he could see, hear and communicate with spirits from the "other side" since the age of four. He said he experienced some kind of spiritual growth spurt in 1999 after a spirit attacked him at his home. From then on, he claimed his powers increased and he would perform for crowds of up to 1,000 at spiritualist churches across the UK.
But his career came to an abrupt end when two young victims came forward and accused Lang of heinous conduct during their sessions with him.
One victim, aged 26, who participated in the trial by live video rather than having to confront Lang in the courtroom, said she came to the psychic because she was desperate to make contact with her grandfather.
Lang convinced her that to improve her spiritual powers, she "had to do things that mankind was afraid of. This meant I had to get naked and perform a bit like a porn star. He said the more outrageous I performed, the stronger I would become," she said.
The woman was only 19 when she first visited Lang, and carried on the sessions for more than three years during which time he instructed her on how to reach higher and higher levels of spiritual power - which he sometimes described as "colors."
"If you didn’t dance to his tune, all hell would break loose. Bad things would happen. I’d lose my colors if I didn’t do what he wanted."
The woman continued: ‘Thinking about it now it makes me feel sick. I’m embarrassed and ashamed about what I had to do, but I was completely controlled. He mentally abused me. I met Karl at a very vulnerable stage in my life. He made me feel special. His eyes were warming and he made me feel safe and comfortable. I saw Karl as my savior."
Shortly after Lang's arrest, she said he called to beg her not to tell police what had happened during their sessions.
Another victim, now 27, said she contacted Lang to help her contact her deceased father. The first time she stripped in front of the psychic, he told her "'Well done! You’ve gone up a level in the spiritual world.' He told me the more outrageous I behaved, the higher level I would get. It was like a reward system."
She later told police she felt ‘brainwashed, manipulated and groomed’.
Apparently, Lang kept control of his victims by warning them not to tell anyone about him because he was the reincarnation of Jesus Christ.
Judge Patrick Curran said the women were "vulnerable in the sense that they were bereaved and sought the defendant's consultation in communicating with those who died, and he took the most gross advantage of the situation."
Lang will be sentenced in July.
As the Mail reporter so aptly surmised, "Despite his insight into the world of the departed, the outcome of his trial today shows he failed to foresee where his behavior would ultimately lead."
