A PSYCHIC healer who claimed he worked with celebrities sexually assaulted a woman and told her she had to be naked to ‘get spirits out’, a court heard.
Pete MacDonald, 77, is charged with four counts of sexual assault after a woman alleged he groped and touched her inappropriately.
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Bournemouth Crown Court heard how the healer claimed he worked with actors Ralph and Joseph Fiennes to gain the trust of clients.
The woman, who cannot be named for legal reasons, said: “I thought if all these people with lots of money are using him, he must be good.”
A jury heard how during one session, MacDonald allegedly made her get naked and lie on his bed.
She told the court the defendant said: “you need to be in this state to get these spirits out” before he rubbed her body with a “special oil”.
It is alleged her groped and touched her inappropriately during the session.
This included a “fireblow” technique, which saw him using his mouth on her body, the court heard.
The woman claimed she was “under a spell” and couldn’t tell him to stop.
She reported the alleged incident to her sister and boyfriend, as well as the police.
MacDonald has worked as a tarot card reader and psychic consultant for more than 30 years.
The complainant went to see him in August 2021 at his home in Shaftesbury, Dorset, to help lift her spirits after going through a bad time in her personal life.
She said: “He came highly recommended. (My boyfriend) had been to see him previously and he predicted a lot of things that had come true.
“Lots of other people had used him, rich and famous people. He did a lot of name dropping – Robbie Williams and Dua Lipa had used his services.
“He was name dropping celebrities – Ralph Fiennes and his brother, said he was best friends with Johnnie Walker, the Radio 2 presenter, that he heavily recommended him.
“Name dropping again he said he had run these retreats in the past with healing sessions for singers and popstars and they had been successful.
“He just gave me the impression he was a decent, trustworthy guy. I thought he could provide me with some answers about life decisions I was in the process of making.”
She told the court MacDonald convinced her to become a client when he gave her an accurate tarot card reading.
Then MacDonald told her he thought she would benefit from a psychic healing session to “draw the bad spirits out”.
A second session was arranged for August 29, 2021 which cost the woman £180 and included a female chaperone.
She said she “completely trusted him” but things took a turn when she was told she’d have to be naked, the court heard.
The woman alleged MacDonald said: “I don’t get the horn when I do this, you need to be in this state to get these spirits out.”
She added: “I felt uncomfortable but I didn’t want to cause a scene. I had not read around what’s involved so I didn’t know if it was a bona fide healing method. I didn’t want to embarrass myself by saying ‘hang on, this isn’t right’.
“Each time he went further down. He mentioned he was going on to a ‘fireblow’, that’s when he started using his mouth on my body.
“He asked how I was feeling on a scale of 1-10. I think he was gauging my reaction.
“In my head I thought if I give him a high score it would be over quicker because he would be healing me quicker.
“I felt like I was almost under a spell in that bedroom, I was not able to tell him to stop.
“Afterwards he said it’s best not to discuss with anyone as I’m in the healing process.
“I barely slept that night and I googled what is meant by a healing session. I thought he’s got a website, he’s being paid to do this and I thought I need to report this.”
The jury also heard from the woman’s partner, who said she was “bordering on hysterical” when he picked her up from the session.
MacDonald denied the woman’s claims in a police interview.
He is charged with four counts of sexual assault.
He is not present at Bournemouth Crown Court after two experts found he was not fit to stand trial.
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Instead a jury will not find him guilty or not guilty but undertake a fact-finding exercise to decide if he did the acts.
The trial continues.
