Rapist energy healer who fled Australia jailed

A "predatory" holistic energy healer who sexually assaulted two vulnerable women before fleeing Australia has been jailed.

Helio Taiyang Matahari, 63, who has been known by five other aliases, appeared in Brisbane District Court on Friday after being "dragged back" for sentencing.

Matahari pleaded guilty to rape and two counts of sexual assault, eight years after his offending began.

The court was told Matahari abused his relationship with a woman in December 2017 after being introduced to her via family, with her mother also seeing him for kinesiology treatment.

Matahari digitally raped the-then 20-year-old, taking advantage of a woman who went seeking his expertise, the court heard.

"She was already feeling quite uneasy … and you progressed with touching her under the guise of therapy," Judge Deborah Richards said.

The woman read out a devastating impact statement to the court with her father in support.

"I never in my life felt so small, so powerless, so utterly violated, as I did from the assault itself and the days that followed," she said.

"But the impacts aren't just consigned to what had happened on the day.

"It's about the seven years that have followed since, seven long years of waiting, hoping and having to constantly re-live the assault without the ability to finally let it go."

A second woman made sexual assault allegations against Matahari in 2018.

He pleaded guilty before it went to trial to both the rape and sexual assault charges in April 2021.

But Matahari then changed his plea and fled Australia to Thailand in December 2021.

He was eventually deported back to Australia, extradited from NSW to Brisbane in 2024.

Matahari was charged with breach of bail and arraigned on that charge on Friday.

"You had to be dragged back," Judge Richards said.

Matahari's behaviour was "predatory and opportunistic sexual offending committed against two vulnerable women which continued undeterred", the crown prosecutor said.

Matahari's defence detailed his extensive work history across multiple fields and provided character references citing his integrity.

"You don't have integrity when you run away from your charges and leave victims hanging while you're basically hiding from the law," Judge Richards said.

"It's extraordinary people would speak of him in these terms if they knew what he'd done."

Matahari was sentenced to five years in jail and will be eligible for parole in September 2026.

1800 RESPECT (1800 737 732)

National Sexual Abuse and Redress Support Service 1800 211 028