A RAPIST blamed his actions on an undiagnosed sleep disorder called sexsomnia.

At Crown Court, Thomas Charleston, 32, denied any wrongdoing but was found guilty of rape and serious sexual assault, both of which happened in 2019 while he was on holiday in the Lakes.

Prosecutor David Birrell cross-examined Charleston on day three of the trial.

The court also heard from the victim, who described Charleston, defended by Mr Brendan Burke, as having entered the holiday home where he was staying after drinking.

In her statement, she described him as having noticeably had a drink while he poured himself another, sat himself on the couch where she was laying, and proceeded to sexually assault and rape her.

She then described Charleston as saying goodnight before leaving her. 

The woman left the property and alerted a park warden about it, at which point the police arrived and arrested Charleston. She repeatedly described his actions as ‘careful’ throughout the ordeal.

Charleston did not deny any part of her testimony but said he was suffering from sexsomnia, a condition where people have sex while in deep REM sleep, and so was completely unaware of his actions, something he relied on heavily for his defence.

When initially interviewed by police he was asked if he had any history of doing what he did that night, to which he said no, and if he had any medical conditions, to which he stated hayfever.

He did not mention sleepwalking or sexsomnia.

Charleston said he was still drunk when interviewed, and therefore the police officer wasn’t doing his job properly by interviewing him while unfit, despite a nurse having described him as medically, physically, and mentally well, and having had seven hours of sleep to sober up.

In his second interview, after providing a written statement in which he described his "sexsomnia" and having sleepwalked since he was seven, he declined to provide detail to the police when asked, giving a no-comment interview.

An interview with his mother and the police took place in which she described her son as having experienced sleepwalking since the age of 11, four years apart from either claim.

In his testimony, he said he awoke from the sofa and checked the door when the police arrived, that was his first memory of the night, in which he described himself as ‘staggeringly drunk’.

Charleston denied intentionally raping the victim but accepted she did not consent.

An expert witness, Dr Idzikowski, a psychologist and specialist in sleep disorders, said that while sexsomnia is not well studied or documented, what is known about the condition would make Charleston’s claims ‘amazing’ if true.

He said that perhaps one or two things of what he did could have happened, but it is almost impossible that everything happened while in deep REM sleep.

It was also said that the timeline of events does not add up to him having achieved deep REM sleep, even if he was asleep, which is a pre-requisite for sexsomnia to happen.

After an evidence summary was read to the jury by the presiding Judge Recorder Kate Bex KC, Mr Birrell addressed them: “You may think the defendant has insulted your intelligence; you may think he asked you to believe the unbelievable.”

He suggested the jury reject sexsomnia for five reasons: the victim not describing Charleston as having fallen asleep, which was not disputed; Dr Idzikowski saying it would be ‘amazing’ if the defendant did everything described in his sleep; the timing which doesn’t add up according to the doctor; the fact he did not mention sexsomnia in his first interview and that he refused to talk about it with the police during that interview.

The barrister continued: “Did he want time to concoct his story? It’s total nonsense and I ask you to reject it, if you reject it there’s no defence,” he concluded.

During the trial, Charleston denied concocting a story with his mother, which resulted in a slip-up while both were interviewed. The jury found Charleston guilty on both charges.

Recorder Bex told Charleston: “It’s a great shame you didn't have the courage to admit what the jury found you did that night because it will extend the amount of time you will need to face in prison.”

Charleston, of Victoria Street in Accrington, was granted conditional bail until a pre-sentencing report on September 6, 2023, under the conditions that he abides by a 7pm to 6am curfew, wear a GPS tag, and does not contact the victim.