A man, aged 62, has been sentenced to 20 years in prison for multiple counts of rape and attempted rape against his wife of 18 years. Despite claiming he was sleepwalking due to a condition known as sexsomnia, the jury at Truro Crown Court rejected this defense. The victim described feeling terrified and violated during the repeated assaults, which occurred monthly over a decade.
The defendant apologized to his wife, stating it wouldn’t happen again, but the abuse persisted from 2006 to 2017. The victim endured the abuse in silence for years out of fear that she would lose her children if she left him. She eventually confided in others and documented the abuse in coded messages in a diary.
During the trial, the defendant denied consciously recalling the sexual acts and dismissed his wife’s complaints. Despite owning shotguns, he denied engaging in violent or unnatural sex with his wife. The court convicted him of five rapes, three attempted rapes, and one count of sexual abuse, leading to a 20-year prison term and lifelong registration as a sex offender.
Experts noted that violence associated with sexsomnia is rare. The defendant, with no prior convictions, expressed that sex was not a significant aspect of their relationship.