The Courier & Advertiser (Fife Edition)
‘Sexsomnia’ defence for Fife rape accused
COURT: Rare sleep disorder blamed for alleged sexual assaults
A Fife man accused of raping two women while they were asleep may be suffering from a rare condition known as sexsomnia, a brain specialist told a jury yesterday.
Darrell Swanson, 39, of Dunfermline, denies the alleged attacks on a 36-year-old woman and a teenager at a property in Fife.
Dr Ian Morrison, a consultant neurologist with NHS Tayside, said it was “entirely possible” that Swanson’s defence that he was asleep at the time was true. He told the High Court at Livingston: “Some see it as a bit of a joke and laugh it off.
“Some find it very embarrassing and some are sympathetic to the position.”
Aleading doctor has told a jury that a rape accused may have been unaware he was having sex because of a condition called sexsomnia.
Dr Ian Morrison, a consultant neurologist with NHS Tayside and a specialist in sleep medicine, said it was “entirely possible” that Darrell Swanson’s defence that he was asleep when he carried out the alleged sexual assaults on a woman and a teenager was true.
He told the High Court at Livingston: “It’s almost exclusively the case that there’s a lack of recall.
“Generally speaking, patients do not recall.
“Some see it as a bit of a joke and laugh it off.
“Some find it very embarrassing and some are sympathetic to the position.”
Asked about Swanson’s admitted episodes of “nocturnal groping behaviour” – grabbing the breasts and thighs of women he slept with – the doctor said that could be another symptom of the condition.
He said“sexual behaviour” in sleep is not exclusively intercourse but can include other acts.
“He has a history of sleep walking, also jumping out of his bed because he thinks things like spiders are in his bed.
“We know from his wife that he talks in his sleep as well.
“In a forensic setting such as this it’ s very important to look at the whole presentation.
“The fact he’s got a history of other forms of sexual behaviour in sleep is relevant.
“He’s by definition asleep when it’s happening. It’s extremely unusual for a patient to have any recollection of these behaviours. It’s almost unknown.”
He said factors such as sleep deprivation, stress, anxiety or drinking alcohol could trigger a sexsomnia episode but admitted there was no diagnostic test for a sleep disorder.
Advocate depute Mark Mohammed asked Dr Morrison if the accused saying something like “let me finish” to the older woman when she wakened was compatible with him being asleep.
The consultant replied: “That would imply he had awareness of the situation and wouldn’t be compatible with sexual behaviour in sleep. It would imply he was awake and having sex through intent.”
Swanson, 39, who lives in Dunfermline , denies repeatedly raping a 36-year-old woman while she was asleep and incapable of consenting at an address in Fife on various occasions between Januar y 2006 and December 2009 and on a single occasion between June and July 2013.
He also denies raping another woman in April 2006 when she was 15 or 16 years old, asleep and unable to consent.
Swanson admitted in evidence that he had sought medical help for an addiction to pornography but denied suggestions that he had taken sexual advantage of both women while they slept.
Neither of the women involved can be identified for legal reasons.
The trial, before Lady Poole, continues.
It’s almost exclusively the case that there’s a lack of recall