A conman who sexually molested a woman whilst posing as an Indian faith healer has been locked up for two and a half years.

Bradford Crown Court heard today how the 18-year-old victim has suffered from depression and even attempted to take her own life after being abused by Gurpej Singh.

He claimed that he could help her recover from the affects of a miscarriage only to attack her once he got her alone in the bedroom.

Prosecutor Gavin Howie told the court that Singh, 18, was on holiday from India and had been staying with relatives in Manchester.

He had come to Bradford in April and was collecting money in the Manningham area which he claimed was for an Indian orphanage when he knocked on the victim's door.

Singh was let into the house, Mr Howie said, and the pair began talking in the kitchen where he "read" her palm.

Part of his prophecy was that she would live to be 84 and then he told her that he was a religious healer.

Mr Howie said Singh had found out about the miscarriage and suggested they go up to the bedroom.

The woman, who cannot be identified for legal reasons, thought there would be no problems and agreed.

Singh, who pleaded guilty to sexual assault, put a stone in a glass of water and told her that it had healing powers. Once upstairs he instructed his believing victim to lie on the bed and remove some of her clothing.

The judge was told that she had some reservation but did take off her jeans. Singh then began "cleansing" her in the stomach area before he began sexually abusing her.

The defendant was repeatedly telling her to relax and telling her everything would be alright as he continued to molest her.

The woman then became upset, Mr Howie said, and told him to get off which he did. After washing his hands Singh told her that she could keep the stone for good luck and asked her not to tell anybody.

But the court was told that it then began to dawn on the woman "how silly she had been" and she phoned her former boyfriend to tell him what Singh had done to her.

Parts of a victim impact statement were read to the court in which the victim describes how she has become depressed since the abuse and had taken an overdose. After being admitted to a psychiatric hospital she is now beginning to make a recovery.

Singh, of Absalom Drive, Cheetham Hill, Manchester, was arrested and in interview told officers what he had done but claimed that he was not going to do "anything bad".

His barrister Robin Frieze urged the Honorary Recorder of Bradford Judge Stephen Gullick to spare his client prison and stressed that all he wanted to do now was go back home to visit his sick mother.

Mr Frieze added that he faced sanctions from the elders back in India and said that the differences in culture may have caused him to commit such a serious crime.

But Judge Gullick said that the only appropriate sentence was one of custody and ordered Singh, who was on a visitor's visa, to sign on the sex offenders' register for the next ten years.

Sending him to a young offenders' institution the judge told him: "It seems to me that by pure guess work you discovered she had recently had a miscarriage." She was clearly gullible and she allowed you, a complete stranger, into her house. She thought that you were some kind of healer and you did nothing to disabuse her belief."