Meath man jailed for two years over 'sexsomnia' assault

A father of three who claimed to suffer from a condition known as “sexsomnia” has been jailed for two years for the sexual assault of his cousin.

Glen Smith (aged 26) of Sandyhill Gardens, Ballymun, but now living in Sandyhill House, Cavan, Co Cavan, had pleaded not guilty at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court to the sexual assault at his cousin's flat in Dublin on August 11, 2009.

Judge Patricia Ryan sentenced him to three years' imprisonment but suspended the final year.

She said Smith had a previous good character but that she had to mark the seriousness of the offense and the effect it had on the victim.

Before being led away from court Smith shouted “you f****** liar” to the victim and “you b******s” to investigating gardaií.

The trial heard that that while sleeping on the floor of his cousin's bedroom the accused got in her bed, pulled her pyjamas off and sexually assaulted her.

His defence team had argued that he has a history of sleepwalking and of carrying out sexual acts while asleep. Lawyers for the State argued that Smith was intoxicated and this was not a defence against sexual assault.

The trial heard that Smith and his cousin had been drinking during the day following a family funeral.

At the end of the day the victim invited Smith and his father to sleep on the floor of her flat.

Smith told gardaí he was very drunk and couldn't remember anything between going to sleep on his own and waking up on his own in his cousin's single bed.

The victim said that she woke up to find her cousin asleep beside her.

The court heard that Smith believes he has a condition, described as “sexsomnia”, which causes sufferers to carry out physical and sexual assaults in their sleep.

His pregnant partner told defence counsel Eanna Molloy SC that over the course of their eight-year relationship she had lost count of the number of times that she had awoken to find him having sex with her, apparently while still asleep.

She said on many of these occasions he was sober and that he would not remember the sex the following day.

The victim told the court that her family has been “torn apart by lies and accusations” that she was making the allegations against her cousin up.

She said: “My family has been broken apart. We were always close-knit. I never expected my cousin to do this. I could not believe this was real.

“I felt betrayed by Glen Smith. When I told my mother I had to get someone to say it because I was too traumatised to speak”.

After a seven-day trial last February a jury of 10 men and two women took less than 90 minutes to return the unanimous verdict.

Judge Ryan had adjourned sentencing until this week after being told Smith and his partner were expecting their second child. The court heard his son was born on Wednesday.