Thaindian News

London, July 5 (IANS) A man in Britain, who raped a teenaged girl, walked free from a court Monday after convincing the jury that he was actually suffering from ’sexsomnia’, a sleeping disorder.

Stephen Lee Davies, 43, told the jury he could not remember having intercourse with the teenage college student despite speaking to her at the time, and then leaving his bedroom to make a hot drink afterwards.

The court heard that he even sent a text message to the girl the following day to inquire whether they had been intimate, the Daily Mail reported Tuesday.

The incident occurred when 16-year-old student was staying overnight at Davies’ home in Pembroke Dock, Wales. She fell ill during the night and went to sleep in Davies’ bedroom because his room was cool.

The girl told the jury of waking up to find herself lying on her side and Davies having sex with her.

Davies told the court he was already fast asleep and had no idea if she was there.

After his arrest, Davies said he still didn’t know if he had had intercourse with her.

Sleep expert Chris Idzikowski, director of the Edinburgh Sleep Centre and founder of the British Sleep Society, said Davies showed all the signs of suffering from sexsomnia.

He said sexsomnia fell into the category of sleepwalking, which affected about four per cent of adults.

Sexsomnia is a disorder that involves the occurrence of sexual acts ranging from fondling to intercourse during sleep. Those who commit these acts have no recollection of the events upon waking.