Man Jailed for Five Years for Rape While Claiming "Sexsomnia"

A man who claimed he had sex with a woman while he was asleep has been jailed for five years for rape.

Karl Gammon, 24, met the victim and her friend at a bar in Loughborough in March 2016 before attacking her. He claimed to suffer from "sexsomnia," a form of non-insane automatism, which he argued meant he had sex with her without his knowledge or memory.

Gammon, of Albert Street in Loughborough, was found guilty on 8 August after a trial at Leicester Crown Court. He was sentenced on Friday and has also been placed on the sex offenders register indefinitely.

Leicestershire Police stated that DNA evidence confirmed he had sex with the woman.

Det Sgt Tom Brenton, who led the investigation, said the victim was still "living with the trauma" of the attack more than two years later. "Gammon's victim has shown tremendous courage throughout the judicial process," he said. "Not only did Gammon prey on his victim when she was vulnerable, he claimed not to have knowledge of the rape when questioned by officers, forcing her to relive her ordeal in court."