A Swedish court has overturned a man’s conviction of rape, as they ruled he was asleep when he attacked the woman.
The incident occurred earlier this year, with the victim waking up to find Mikael Halvarsson assaulting her. The victim called the police that morning, who arrived to find Mikael still in her bed. He was later sentenced to two years in prison.
The Swedish appeals court has now overruled the decision, with Mikael stating he was asleep when the attack happened. The court ruled that the man had no intention to rape the woman and "was unconscious of what was happening."
A doctor of the court confirmed that the man could be suffering from sexsomnia, a state in which people have sex while they sleep but remain unconscious.
The appeals court also heard a testimony from Makael’s ex-girlfriend, who revealed he had previously tried to have sex with her while she slept, and when she tried to stop him he had acted confused and completely unaware of his actions.
Mikael’s mother also told the court he had disturbed sleeping patterns as a child, and had been known to sleep walk.
Sexsomnia has been confirmed as a real condition by doctors, but is rarely diagnosed in patients.
