Fake guru jailed for sex attacks
A BOGUS spiritual guru from Belsize Park accused of sexually assaulting scores of women has been jailed for 10 years.
Cult leader Michael Lyons, 52, who claimed he was 'affiliated' to the Dalai Lama, preyed on professional, middle-class women who treated him like a God and helped him fund a lavish lifestyle.
Using the name Mohan Singh and dressed in flowing maroon robes, the guru was driven around in Bentleys, Mercedes and vintage Rolls-Royces.
Lyons previously lived in Belsize Park and St John's Wood, but he also had the run of luxury homes in Miami, Paris and India.
His followers believed he possessed healing powers and could cure cancer.
In reality the self-proclaimed mystic was a 'sexual predator' who may have preyed on hundreds of followers from Britain and America.
Lyons was accused of attacking seven followers, including tourists and backpackers.
After a three month trial and four weeks of deliberations a jury at Wood Green Crown Court convicted Lyons of raping one woman and sexually assaulting another on Friday
He was cleared of three more rapes and one more sexual assault but the jury could not reach a decision on another rape and sexual assault.
Those charges were ordered to lie on the court file.
Lyons, who now lives in Brondesbury Park, Kilburn, denied the charges, which dated from 1998 to 2007.
Jailing him for seven years for rape and three years consecutive for the sexual assault on Friday, Judge Nicholas Browne QC said the guru's followers showed him "blind loyalty".
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