The Times December 20, 2005
Rape trial jury accepts defence of
sleepwalking
By Frances Gibb, Legal Editor
A MAN accused of rape was cleared by a jury yesterday after
claiming he suffered from sleepwalking.
James Bilton, 22, said that he could not remember the alleged
attack at his flat in York and that he must have been asleep at the
time.
The bar worker, who told police that he had sleepwalked since the
age of 13, was cleared of three counts of rape by a jury at York
Crown Court after the week-long trial.
The acquittal coincides with fresh moves by law officers to boost
the conviction rate for rape cases.
During the trial, the jury was told that the alleged victim knew Mr
Bilton. After a night out with her in March this year, Mr Bilton
put her to bed in his flat while he slept on the sofa.
The 22-year-old woman said that she woke to find her trousers had
been taken off and Mr Bilton assaulting her. She denied she
consented to sex.
Mr Bilton said he had no knowledge of the attack but he had a
history of sleepwalking which ran in the family.
He could only remember waking up on the sofa and was completely
oblivious as to what had allegedly happened, the court was
told.
A sleep expert, Dr Ishaad Ebrahim, said that Mr Bilton did suffer
from the condition and revealed that sleepwalkers could carry out
actions that they did when awake. The court was told that between 1
and 2.5 per cent of the adult population suffered from the
condition. Of those, 4 per cent carried out sexual behaviour.
Last month, a High Court judge threw out the case of a student who
said that she had been raped while drunk and unconscious on the
basis that drunken consent is still consent.
Only 5.6 per cent of Britains reported rape cases result in
conviction in court, the lowest of any European country except the
Irish Republic.
Michael OBrien, the Solicitor-General, is sending proposals this
week to the Bar Council and Ken Macdonald, the Director of Public
Prosecutions, after winning the backing of the ministerial
committee on sexual offences. The package includes a definition of
capability to give consent in cases where a victim may have been
drinking or was asleep when the attack took place.
Other proposals include training judges and allowing expert
witnesses to present behavioural evidence. Mr OBrien has ruled
out lowering the burden of proof in rape cases.
One of the main obstacles to a rape conviction is jurors attitude
to female behaviour, according to police and legal experts. Now,
for the first time, there may be a legal definition on whether a
victim was able to grant consent, making it more difficult for
alleged attackers to show that sex was consensual.
Whether the sexual history of a victim is relevant will be outlined
at pre-trial hearings. It is hoped that this will prevent the
defence raising traumatic past events unless they are exceptionally
relevant.
Yvonne Traynor, of the Rape and Sexual Abuse Support Centre, said:
We have waited a long time for someone to listen to us about the
miscarriage of justice during rape trials.
Mr Bilton slumped forward in the dock as he was cleared on all
counts. He left the court in tears, supported by friends and
family, and declined to comment.
Although the defence of sleepwalking is extremely rare, the case
follows a similar acquittal in Canada last month, when Jan
Luedecke, 33, was acquitted of rape after a judge ruled that he was
asleep at the time.
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