A Gainesville hypnotherapist was sentenced to 18 months in prison, followed by 10 years of probation, after pleading no contest to charges of having sex with a client.
Robert Andrew Nichols, 64, was arrested by Gainesville police in July 2019 after a woman reported the sexual activity began when she visited him for a hypnotherapy session.
They ended their professional relationship but continued to receive sexual therapy, including ritual magic, the arrest report states.
Nichols is accused of being a psychotherapist who engaged in sexual acts with clients or former clients. He pleaded no contest and was sentenced Tuesday by Eighth Circuit Judge Mark Moseley.
The plea agreement recommended imprisonment for up to five years and restitution. The agreement also prohibits Mr. Nichols from engaging in psychotherapy, including hypnotherapy.
In a shock statement filed in court records, the woman wrote that she began treatment to better herself and her life, saying she has anxiety, has no friends in Gainesville and has family issues. It was added that there is.
“This man has tainted my life,” she wrote, “not only with painfully vivid memories of forced relationships and sexual situations, but also with worsening illness and residual mental illness.” “I’m here today to help another sensitive woman who is seeking help in her life from a qualified professional and to ensure that something like this never happens again, at least not by this man. To do my part.”
