Sleepwalker escapes sex charges
Judge dismisses indecent assault charges against a man, accepting he was sleepwalking after getting drunk Tristan Corey Scott has twice before been involved in similar cases Experts say he suffers from extremely rare ‘sexsomnia’ But the mother of the t
Ajudge has dismissed charges of indecent assault against a man, accepting he was sleepwalking, after getting drunk.
The Herald on Sunday can finally tell the story of Tristan Corey Scott after fighting to have name suppression lifted. It is the fifth time known sleepwalking, or parasomnia, has been a defence in New Zealand.
But the mother of the two teenage girls who were indecently assaulted in the latest case told the Herald on Sunday the verdict was “atrocious”.
The teenage girls, sleeping in separate bedrooms, gave evidence they woke to find Scott in their rooms, touching their legs, said court documents. He and his partner had spent the night socialising with the parents of the complainants at their home.
The court heard Scott, who lives in Wellington and works in IT, had been drinking heavily.
Scott, 35, has a previous indecent assault conviction from 2011 after pleading guilty to molesting a woman, also asleep in her bed. He had been drinking alcohol prior to the incident.
This and a third alleged instance that did not result in charges, in which Scott entered a darkened house uninvited, were cited by police as showing a propensity to enter rooms where women were sleeping.
But Scott’s lawyer argued the earlier incidents could be other examples of parasomnia. Expert evidence about the condition was given by a sleep specialist whom Scott had approached for treatment.
District Court judge Jim Large found the girls were indecently assaulted by Scott, but dismissed the charges saying he was not conscious of what he was doing because he was in a state of automatism by way of parasomnia, caused by excessive drinking. Automatism is a legal term meaning the performance of actions without conscious thought or intention.
Parasomnias are a group of sleep disorders, of which sexomnia is one. Sometimes called sleep sex, sexomnia is similar to sleepwalking but people engage in sex acts.
The judge said he found the complainants to be reliable witnesses and was sure Scott committed the acts they described.
But the teens’ mother does not believe Scott suffered an episode of parasomnia, and was incapable of knowing what he was doing. “For me, he just got drunk to the point he did things he shouldn’t have.”
Her daughters were disappointed, she said. “For them to see this guy can just walk away without anything, they are pretty bummed out.”
Police told the girls’ mother the prosecutor took issue with aspects of the decision relating to parasomnia and wanted to appeal to the High Court but after a review by the Deputy Solicitor General this did not proceed.
Scott can be named following a May decision in May by Judge Large dismissing permanent name suppression. Scott did not seek name suppression during the trial but did so after the Herald on Sunday approached the court for information. He did not respond to requests for comment.