A NSW man has avoided a rape sentence after successfully arguing the offence was a symptom of his sexsomnia, a diagnosed medical condition.
is a sleep disorder where people engage in sexual activity during their sleep, typically with no recollection after waking.
The seven-day trial required a jury to determine whether he was unconscious at the time, or if he was awake.
Crime
In August 2022, the man and a woman spent the night out together before returning to his apartment around 1am.
After arriving home, the pair continued drinking and took a bath together before getting into bed to sleep.
It is alleged that around 6am, the woman woke to find him having sex with her. She left the apartment immediately after pushing him off.
Trial
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An audio recording taken by the woman as she was leaving Rowland’s apartment was among the evidence presented during the seven-day trial this past week.
In the recording, Rowland can be heard asking her why she was leaving and whether “something bad happened?”
The man’s lawyers argued he has “a long history of sleep sex” and asked the jury to consider whether he was “aware of what he was doing at the time.”
Judgment
In Australia, there arerules, or regulations regarding sexual offences committed by people diagnosed with sexsomnia.
Presiding Judge John Pickering expressed concern over the consequences of sentencing people for crimes committed while unconscious, calling it “a really dangerous logic.”
“We’re not about to punish people for acts that they have no lawful control over.”
