Therapist who claimed he may heal trauma with intercourse as ‘vitality launch’ jailed
The article contains details some of you may find distressing – therapist who reportedly used his position to sexually abuse women under the guise of therapy has been thrown behind bars for 11 years for his grotesque crimes
Gerald Peck, 77(Image: Sussex Police)
A therapist who said he could heal a woman’s trauma through sexual touching and oral sex has been thrown behind bars for 11 years. On several occasions the man penetrated the victim with his fingers and even attempted to persuade the victim to have sex with him as a “form of energy release”.
Gerald Peck, 77, worked as a bodywork psychotherapist, was convicted of five sexual offences on February 2. The therapist was initially charged with the offences after being charged in October 2024.
Hitting Peck with the sentence at Lewes crown court, Judge Mooney said: “The young woman who came to see you believed you could help her at a particularly difficult time in her life. She had every reason to believe she could trust you.”
The judge added: “All the information you provided to her led her to believe you were a qualified bioenergetics practitioner. That was a lie.
“You were banned from practising by the Bioenergetics Institute because in the late 1980s you used your position to sexually abuse women under the guise of therapy. Since that date you’ve been nothing more than a charlatan and a fraud.”
The victim told police in 2021 she had been recommended Peck’s “services” from a friend when she was seeking help for depression and anxiety. The sham therapy included removing clothing, as skin-to-skin contact which Peck claimed “helps soothe nervous systems”.
The therapist told the victim her inner baby “needed to suckle” – this skin to skin contact would then turn into kissing. As the sessions progressed they started to involve more nudity and touching, the victim said.
On several occasions, he penetrated her with his finger to “heal [her] birth trauma”. On another occasion, he gave her oral sex and attempted to persuade her to have sex as a “form of energy release.”
A lawyer at the Centre for Women’s Justice, Nogah Ofer, has called the incident “completely outrageous”. Ofer – who supported the victim – said: “[It was] completely outrageous how difficult it’s been to get this case to court.”
“What is really dangerous is that there are these therapists out there, and they’re convincing clients that sexual contact is going to help them, when in fact it’s incredibly damaging. The lack of regulation of therapists is really concerning for vulnerable people who could end up with quacks.
“And you wouldn’t expect that if you go to a doctor.” The victim read out a statement at the sentencing and said: “[Peck] caused profound and lasting damage to my mental and physical health, and to every part of my life.
“More than five years later, I still experience terrifying flashbacks that feel as though I am back in that room with him. I have lived these past five years with constant worry that other women are likely still being harmed by him.”
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