Husband Jailed After 'Sleepwalking' Rape Defense Fails in 100+ Attacks

A DEPRAVED husband, 62, who claimed he was sleepwalking when he raped his wife has been jailed. The vile sex offender, who can’t be named in order to protect his victim’s identity, attacked her more than 100 times. Truro Crown Court, in Cornwall, heard the defendant claim he suffered from sexomnia – an abnormal disorder which causes an individual to engage in sexual behaviour during deep sleep. The victim said she was “scared and disgusted” by her husband, of 18 years, who she feared would kill her. She told a jury he was turned on by covering her mouth and nose while abusing her until she couldn’t breathe. The court heard he had raped and abused her around once a month for the past decade. The victim said she would be woken up by her husband raping her in their bed. Prosecutor Heather Hope told the jury: “He has claimed that this happened without knowledge of what he was doing.” She told the court the mum-of-two had repeatedly asked him to get professional help for his alleged sleep disorder. However, nothing changed between 2006 and 2017, the jury heard. The victim said her husband’s behaviour had changed after the birth of their first child and she started keeping a diary recording her abuse. But she said he threatened to take her children away if she ever left him. The court heard she managed to confide in a few close friends about what was unfolding behind closed doors. But the defendant said they were “very good friends” and he didn’t “consciously remember” abusing his wife. He also said he couldn’t remember her ever telling him about his behaviour. He admitted speaking to his GP about sleepwalking but not about what his wife had said he had done to her. The defendant told the jury during his trial: “I would not accuse her of lying, I cannot recall. Family is everything to me.” He had denied raping and sexually abusing his wife: “I would definitely not do anything like that. A neurological expert in sleep disorders told the court violence and aggression was very rare in sexomnia. The jury convicted him of five rapes, three attempted rapes and one count of sexual abuse between 2006 and 2017. He was sentenced to 20 years and put on the Sex Offenders’ register for life.