‘I went numb': Survivor speaks as kinesiologist jailed for rape, sexual assault
A kinesiologist who sexually assaulted a woman on her 20th birthday and then attacked another victim months later, before fleeing to Thailand, has been jailed.
Helio Matahari, 63, referred to in earlier reports as an 'energy healer', was sentenced in the District Court in Brisbane on Friday to four years' imprisonment for the assaults, which he committed while working in 2017 and 2018.
Brisbane-born Matahari was arrested by local authorities in Thailand in September for overstaying his visa. He was deported to NSW, before being extradited to Queensland.
Police at the time alleged he had failed to appear in Brisbane for his sexual offences case in 2021.
Crown prosecutor Ashleigh Worthington said Matahari had accrued many aliases, and fled Queensland whilst he was on bail.
Matahari's conduct was predatory and opportunistic sexual offending committed against two vulnerable women, Worthington said. He digitally raped and sexually assaulted one victim during an appointment, and then later sexually assaulted a woman after a kinesiology function.
One woman read her victim impact statement to the court, supported by a loved one on the stand.
'An hour, just one hour, one moment, where his actions took away my choices, my autonomy and my innocence … has forever altered the trajectory of my life,' she said through tears.
'I stand before you not only as a victim of sexual assault and rape, but as a survivor. These past seven years choosing every day to reclaim my peace, my strength and the freedom to live without fear because of his actions upon me.'
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