Crown witness rejects ‘sleep-sex’ testimony

Earlier expert said man ‘likely asleep’

There is “no reliable scientific evidence” to suggest the actions of a man accused of sexually assaulting his daughter while sleepwalking were triggered by drinking alcohol, a sleep expert testified Monday in the sexual assault trial of a man diagnosed with sexsomnia.

The man, 48, who cannot be identified because of a publication ban, is alleged to have crawled into bed with his seven-year-old daughter after his wife kicked him out of their bed for being drunk. He then allegedly removed his daughter’s underwear and held her down as he touched her in December 2010. He allegedly pushed the Grade 3 student off the bed when she tried to fight him off.

In a rare move, the Crown opted to call Mark Pressman to present reply evidence, which is called when the Crown has technically closed its case, in response to evidence presented by the defence — in this case, the testimony of Dr. Colin Shapiro.

“No one has ever given alcohol to a known sleepwalker and seen what happens,” Pressman said, calling into question Shapiro’s testimony.

Shapiro, also a sleep expert, previously testified that the man was “very likely asleep” when the assault took place, suffering from parasomnia, a type of sleep disorder that can include sleepeating, sleepwalking and sleep sex, that he said can be triggered by alcohol consumption.

During Shapiro’s cross-examination, Crown prosecutor Mike Boyce suggested that the man sexually assaulted his daughter because he was drunk, not because he was asleep.

The Crown has pointed out that the man has told three different versions of how he ended up in his daughter’s bed.

In one version, the man described how he only recalled falling asleep in a bed with his wife before waking up in his daughter’s bed. In another, he recalled getting kicked out of bed by his wife and was conscious when he crawled into bed with his daughter. In yet another, he recalled going straight to his daughter’s bed.

But, Pressman said, the “overwhelming majority” of patients have no memory of sleepwalking. Some might remember a dreamlike image but they’d need someone else to tell them what they did because the brain isn’t forming the memories to begin with.

“They’re not taking in that information, they’re not remembering it,” he said.

The accused also testified that he once shared a bed with a friend and grabbed that man’s buttocks thinking he was asleep with his wife. Another time, after drinking, the man’s wife found him inside his car in the winter playing music in the middle of the night. Both events are inconsistent with parasomnia, Pressman said. Pressman said a person in that state would be cognitively impaired and wouldn’t be able to make comparisons between who he’s touching and who he thinks he’s touching. Nor, would he be able to give an intelligible answer to his wife.

“They can’t do that kind of thinking,” Pressman said.

This is the man’s second trial; the first ended in a mistrial.

The man has pleaded not guilty to sexual assault and sexual interference. Pressman’s cross-examination was scheduled for Tuesday.