A 62-year-old man has been sentenced to two decades in prison after a jury dismissed his extraordinary defence that he was asleep during a ten-year campaign of rape and sexual abuse against his wife.
Jury Rejects 'Sexsomnia' Defence in Harrowing Case
The defendant, who cannot be named to protect the identity of his ex-wife, was convicted of multiple counts of rape and attempted rape following a trial at Truro Crown Court. His legal team argued he may have been suffering from sexsomnia, a rare sleep disorder where a person engages in sexual acts while asleep.
However, the jury found him guilty of five rapes, three attempted rapes, and one count of sexual abuse, committed between 2006 and 2017. Prosecutor Heather Hope told the court: "He repeatedly raped and sexually abused his wife during the course of their marriage."
A Decade of Terror for the Victim
The court heard a harrowing account from the victim, who was married to the man for 18 years. She described how the abuse occurred approximately once a month for a decade, leaving her "scared and disgusted."
She testified that he would hold his hand over her mouth and nose during the assaults, a particular turn-on for him, which made her fear for her life as she gasped for breath. The abuse reportedly began after the birth of their first child, despite what she described as a previously "low key and conservative" sex life.
The victim felt trapped for years, stating her husband threatened that she would "never see the kids again" if she left him. She eventually confided in a colleague and her sister, and kept a coded diary detailing the abuse she endured.
Contested Claims and the Path to Justice
Throughout the trial, the defendant maintained he had no conscious memory of the attacks. He told the jury he would not accuse his wife of lying but could not recall the events she described. He claimed the only time he heard the term sexsomnia was from a legal representative, and while he had spoken to his GP about sleepwalking, he had not mentioned his wife's allegations.
An expert in sleep disorders told the court that violence and aggression are very rare in genuine cases of sexsomnia. The defendant, who had no previous convictions and owned shotguns, described their relationship as being like "very good friends" or siblings.
The prosecution highlighted that the victim had repeatedly confronted him, told him he needed medical help, and that he had apologised only for the abuse to continue. He was sentenced to a total of 20 years imprisonment and will be placed on the Sex Offenders' Register for life.
