Daughter groped: man justifies abuse with ‘sexsomnia’

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Two unusual sexsomnia abuse cases are making headlines in New Zealand.

In 2019, there was another case of a father who groped his daughter at night. According to the NZ Herald, he had appealed the verdict.

His reason: he suffers from ‘sexsomnia’. He has no memory of what happened and did not knowingly sexually touch his daughter, he argues. The victim – who mainly lives with the mother – had spent the night with her father. She then told her mother that her father had touched her “inappropriately.”

Sexsomnia is a bizarre sleep disorder. Victims commit sexual acts while sleeping, falling asleep or waking up.

However, the court in Wellington rejected the man’s request. Although the man was diagnosed with sleep apnea in a sleep study, the experts found no other signs of abnormal sleep behavior. His eight-month house arrest was not overturned.

Colleague’s daughter assaulted

In another New Zealand case, which cited sexsomnia as a justification for sexual abuse, a jury ruled in favor of the perpetrator. A man had abused a colleague’s teenage daughter during the night. The incidents took place between January 2018 and July 2020.

A jury in Hamilton acquitted him, Radio New Zealand reports. The judge, after hearing two experts, said in the verdict that the defendant was aware he had “this somewhat unusual diagnosis” and that he had presented the jury with “convincing and credible evidence.”

Also unusual in Switzerland

At the beginning of this week, the case of Kulm AG made headlines. A then 19-year-old man allegedly raped his partner’s 15-year-old best friend in 2019.

But although the court believed Kulm’s complaint, the accused was acquitted. He pleaded not guilty because he suffers from a sleep disorder and therefore did not consciously carry out his actions.

Subsequently, the court commissioned an interdisciplinary expert opinion. Research showed that the then 19-year-old was actually prone to sleepwalking.

The man was acquitted. The judges pointed out that the credibility of the victim was in no way questioned, but that the suspect had also made credible statements. (neo)

Source: Blick