HYPNOTIST JAILED FOR SEX ABUSE

A hypnotherapist filmed himself sexually abusing a 19-year-old patient while she was in a trance-like state. Philip Sherwin (47) also had more than 40,000 indecent images of children on his computer. After admitting the offences, he was jailed for 18 months at Leicester Crown Court yesterday. Sentencing, Judge Simon Hammond said Sherwin had exploited a "vulnerable, fragile young woman". The judge said: "The defendant was acting in the capacity of a medical practitioner. He abused the trust of a woman who went to him for help. "He groomed her and created a situation where he could touch her and exploit her vulnerable state and filmed the abuse." Sherwin, of Balfour Street, off Woodgate, Leicester, had twice successfully hypnotised the victim to help with anxiety attacks, gaining her trust, before recruiting her as "a guinea-pig for research". He told her to take her trousers off so he could "remove the energy" from her legs and then touched her intimately. He filmed the incident and also took photos.

Other great stories
STRANDED POLAR BEAR

Sitting all alone on drift ice in the Arctic Ocean, this lonely little fella looks lost .

RIVET-ING ALL WOOD TOWER

WELCOME to what could be the world's tallest TOTALLY wooden construction .

IPAD GAMES FOR KITTIES TURNS THEM INTO PI-CAT-SSO

Is your cat bored? Do his usual playthings simply not do it for him anymore? Not to worry - there's an app for that .

OWLS ARE MASTERS OF DISGUISE IN INDIAN FOREST

HUDDLED together in the hollow of a tree, it would be easy to overlook these two sleepy owls as they blend into the trunk .

CHRISTMAS SNOWMAN ATTRACTS CURIOUS SQUIRREL

Peering curiously into a basket hanging off the arms of a snowman, this little squirrel appears fascinated by the snowy figure .

KALEIDOSCOPIC CATHEDRALS AND CHURCHES

THESE kaleidoscopic-like photographs capture England’s churches and cathedrals in all their glory .

PLAYFUL TIGERS GET UP TO MISCHIEF

SPLASHING in the water and fighting in-between rocks, these energetic tigers enjoy their fun-filled morning .

NERVOUS SQUIRREL

EAGERLY BITING his nails, this little squirrel is clearly nervous of looming predators as he searches for his meal .

RING OF FIRE ECLIPSE IN OZ

THIS RING of fire in the sky is the annular solar eclipse that wowed our cousins down-under .

SPLASHING KINGFISHER

CAUSING a splash, this determined kingfisher goes hunting for dinner .

£34m TAX FRAUD RACKET JAILED

A man who conned tax officials out of £34 million and funded a lavish lifestyle of luxury hotels and restaurants has been jailed for one of the longest sentences in British criminal fraud history .

INTIMATE PORTRAITS OF HINDU HOLY MEN

COVERING themselves in ash and face paint, these are the holy men who live their lives away from everyday society .