‘Guilty men have got away with it’: fears over rise of ‘sexsomnia’ defence in rape cases

Concerns that rare sleep disorder is being used as an escape route' in sexual offence trials prompt calls for safeguards to protect victims and the public

Experts and lawyers involved in sexual offence cases in Britain have warned that suspected rapists are evading justice by claiming to have a rare sleepwalking disorder that causes them to engage in sexual activity while asleep.

They said there had definitely" been cases where guilty people had been found not guilty, and warned of the potential for further miscarriages of justice - and harm to the public - without more robust challenges to sexsomnia" claims put forward by defendants.