Swedish Man Acquitted Of Rape Trial Due To Sexsomnia

A Swedish man named Mikael Halvarsson, who was accused of rape in April 2914, was acquitted of all charges by a judge in Sundvall court after his defence lawyer argued that he suffers from sexsomnia.

While pronouncing the verdict, the judge ruled that 26-year-old Halvarsson was "in a state of sleepiness and unconsciousness" and was unaware of what was happening around. The judge said that the story is not absurd and overturned the two-year prison sentence on appeal. The victim alleged that Halvarsson forcibly had sex with her while they were sleeping in the same bed.

The police learned about the alleged rape when a woman called them one morning. The officers arrived to find Halvarsson sleeping in her bed under a blanket and did not seem aware of anything that had happened between them.

A doctor specialising in sleep disorders told the court that the man might be suffering from sexsomnia. This was supported by a statement by Halvarsson's ex-girlfriend who said that he once tried to have sex with her when she was sleeping. According to her, he seemed confused when she tried to stop him. Halvarsson's mother too testified in the court and said that he had very disturbed sleep pattern.

According to SBS, sexsomnia has been accepted in a few criminal defense cases of rape. In 2007, a 38-year-old man was acquitted of rape charges after he claimed that he suffered from sexsomnia. Similarly, another man was also allowed to go scot free from similar charges, even though he was convicted in the past.

What exactly is sexsomnia?

Sexsomnia is a rare condition in which a person, without his knowledge, has sex while he is still asleep. A person suffering from sexsomnia will engage in sexual activities in sleep, which means that he is unaware while committing the act.

The condition, according to Wikipedia, falls under a class of sleep disorders known as parasomnias, and is usually accompanied by other sleep disorders such as sleepwalking, bedwetting and nightmares.