A SPIRITUALIST claimed to be Jesus Christ and “conned” grieving women into stripping and performing sex acts on themselves, a court heard.

Medium Karl Lang, 49, is alleged to have told two Newport women, both in their 20s, that by acting “more and more outrageously”, they could get in touch with dead relatives they were desperate to speak to.

Prosecutor Matthew Roberts told Newport Crown Court Lang “totally brainwashed’ the vulnerable women and also encouraged them to send him naked photos of themselves by saying this would enhance their psychic powers.

Lang, of Winchester Close, Newport, denies 12 counts of causing women to engage in sexual activity without consent, which are alleged to have occurred between November 2005 and September 2009 and involve two women.

Mr Roberts described Lang as a “charming, charismatic spiritualist” who was able to dominate his alleged victims.

He said the defendant devised a “spirit scale” with training exercises which involved women taking their clothes off to enhance their psychic powers.

Mr Roberts said: “He told them they had to be naked as the spirits are also naked and being more and more outrageous in their behaviour would please the spirits and progress them on the spirit scale.”

The first alleged victim lost her father ten years ago and she was impressed with Lang after seeing him give a reading at a friend’s house.

She wanted to be trained as a medium to reach her dad and help other grieving people but, Mr Roberts said the training became “more explicit and intense” and involved her touching herself in front of him and sending Lang naked photos of herself.

Lang warned her not to tell anyone about the training because he was the reincarnation of Jesus Christ and nothing could happen to him.

Mr Roberts said “alarm bells started ringing” when Lang told her that to progress to the next level, he must touch her.

Mr Roberts said: “It was a cruel trick. He was a sexual fraudster and he conned them.”

Lang’s second victim gave evidence and she said: “He manipulated me, preyed on my weaknesses.”

She told the court she visited Lang weekly for three months after being impressed with a show she’d seen and wanted to contact her grandfather.

She said she stopped seeing Lang after he told her that to progress further on the scale, he’d have to touch her with his mouth.

Proceeding