Man accused of rape has history of ‘sexsomnia’

A psychiatrist who specialises in sleep disorders has told a rape trial that she believes the accused has a history of sleep walking, night terrors and “sexsomnia”.

The 29-year-old man claims he was sleepwalking when he raped his female friend after they went to bed together following a night out.

The man, who cannot be named for legal reasons, has pleaded not guilty at the Central Criminal Court to one count of raping the woman at an apartment in Dublin in the early hours of September 28, 2008.

Dr Catherine Crowe, director of a sleep clinic based at the Mater Hospital, told Hugh Hartnett SC, defending that she believed the alleged rape was “more likely” an episode of sleep sex.

She said the accused had a clear history of parasomnia, or sleepwalking, going back to early adolescence.

Dr Crowe said he had a history of sexsomnia before the alleged rape and according to his former girlfriend, continued to have sleep sex afterwards.

“The event on the night could have been a sexsomnia episode. I don’t know, I wasn’t there. It is up to the court to deal with that,” Dr Crowe said.

She clarified when questioned further by Mr Hartnett that she thought it was “more likely” a sexsomnia episode, given the pattern of his behaviour.