KEY POINTS:
A natural healer facing sex allegations from two patients has been allowed to question them about their claims.
The healer, North Shore man Geoffrey Mogridge, is facing a damages claim totalling $175,000 at a Human Rights Review Tribunal hearing in Auckland.
Under rules governing the hearing, complainants in sex cases can only be cross-examined directly by the man they have accused if they agree to it happening. After one of the women gave evidence yesterday, Mogridge, who is representing himself, asked her how clear her memory was, given her fragile state at the time.
The woman replied she recalled things more vividly when they had a greater impact on her.
He asked her if she had become stronger after his treatment.
"Only if you put a positive spin on what doesn't kill you can only make you stronger."
The woman told the hearing she met Mogridge in September 2003 when she went to him for a numerology and healing reading.
Mogridge allegedly told her she needed a massage before healing and asked her to undress.
The woman did so and Mogridge began massaging her shoulders before he started kissing her and touching her breasts.
The woman, who has a history of sexual abuse, said she responded to his attention because she felt vulnerable. Mogridge allegedly told her that she needed to "push past" her fears and force herself to have sex. "I remember sitting in his lounge. I was shaking and wanting it to stop but he kept touching me. I later vomited after running from the room."
At the hearing on Monday, the tribunal heard from another woman who claimed Mogridge told her an affair would help her recover from an earlier rape.
Her husband, who also went to Mogridge for counselling, also gave evidence.
The hearing is expected to run until the end of the week.
