Man cleared of raping son in his sleep
A man has been found not guilty of raping his son, despite his admitting having sex with him. The man claimed he was sleeping at the time and thought he was having sex with his partner in an erotic dream.
The man, 38, told the court that the first he knew of the attack was when he woke up half way through and found that the person he thought was his wife was in fact his eight-year-old son. At this point he immediately stopped the attack.
Prosecutor Mikael Hammarstrand argued that the attack was linked to the fact that the man was very drunk before going to bed. The man's inebriation meant that he could be found guilty, he argued.
In clearing the man of the charges, the Lower Norrland Court of Appeal in Sundsvall said that the man's version of events was not implausible. If the man was not aware of his actions, he cannot be judged to have acted with intent the court said
The court added that he had never previously, when drunk, acted in a way that indicated that there was a risk he would attack his children.
The appeal court's ruling was in line with a previous judgment from the Hudiksvall District Court. Prosecutors wanted the man to be convicted of rape and sentenced to four years in jail.
The man had not entered a plea, saying he was unable to confess to or deny attacking the boy.
We previously erroneously reported that the man had attacked his daughter, not his son. This article has been changed to correct the error.
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The man, 38, told the court that the first he knew of the attack was when he woke up half way through and found that the person he thought was his wife was in fact his eight-year-old son. At this point he immediately stopped the attack.
Prosecutor Mikael Hammarstrand argued that the attack was linked to the fact that the man was very drunk before going to bed. The man's inebriation meant that he could be found guilty, he argued.
In clearing the man of the charges, the Lower Norrland Court of Appeal in Sundsvall said that the man's version of events was not implausible. If the man was not aware of his actions, he cannot be judged to have acted with intent the court said
The court added that he had never previously, when drunk, acted in a way that indicated that there was a risk he would attack his children.
The appeal court's ruling was in line with a previous judgment from the Hudiksvall District Court. Prosecutors wanted the man to be convicted of rape and sentenced to four years in jail.
The man had not entered a plea, saying he was unable to confess to or deny attacking the boy.
We previously erroneously reported that the man had attacked his daughter, not his son. This article has been changed to correct the error.
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