No jail for sex assaults on sleeping girlfriend

A man who regularly raped and sexually assaulted his girlfriend in her sleep has received a suspended prison sentence of seven years.

The full extent of the offending only emerged after Magnus Meyer Hustveit, aged 25, wrote to his former partner and told her he had been using her “body for my gratification” for nearly a year.

The Norwegian man, previously of Leo St, North Circular Rd, Dublin, pleaded guilty at the Central Criminal Court to one count of rape and one count of sexual assault of a 28-year-old Irish woman at a place in Dublin between 2011 and 2012.

Mr Justice Patrick McCarthy said it was a very exceptional case. He said he had to consider the fact that there would be no rational case but for the confessions of the accused.

“In truth, this case comes here today out of his own mouth,” he said before suspending the sentence.

The judge said that, in more than three decades on the bench, he had never come across a case like this.

He said, in his view, the most significant features of the case were the deceit, the repetition of the offences and the effect on the victim. He said the final significant feature in his view was the fact that “these would not have been prosecuted without the admission of the accused”.

A solicitor for the DPP told the court that the victim wished to waive her right to anonymity to allow Hustveit to be named.

The woman said it took her two years to fully comprehend the magnitude of Hustveit’s crimes.

She said: “I’m left grappling with the knowledge that someone I trusted violated that trust regularly.

“I’ve lost everything you can claim to have or be. Above all, I’ve lost my sense of identity and self-worth.”

Sgt Patrick Keegan told Mary Rose Gearty, prosecuting, that the victim first met Hustveit in a bar in 2011. They began a relationship. They moved in together in December 2011.

His crimes first came to light in 2012 when the woman woke up to find herself wet with what she believed to be semen. She confronted Hustveit, who admitted he had had sex with her while she slept. She told him that it was a problem but the relationship continued.

Hustveit later admitted he had raped and sexually assaulted her in her sleep, often while she was under the influence of medication. The relationship ended.

In a subsequent email exchange between the victim and Hustveit, he made detailed admissions including raping her up to 10 times and touching her in her sleep up to three times per week throughout their relationship. These emails became the basis of a garda investigation in June 2012.

In the email, he admitted he had raped her, saying: “I guess it must be under 10 times.” He also explained his behaviour, saying: “It is really difficult. I did it for short term gratification. I convinced myself it was a victimless crime because you were asleep.

“Now I’ve written this, you can have me prosecuted. I hope you won’t.”

Reading her victim impact statement to the court, the woman said her life had been destroyed by the abuse. She had attempted suicide and she suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder, eating disorders, and anxiety.