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London: An RAF mechanic who claimed he was sleepwalking when he had sex with a 15-year-old girl was cleared of rape on Tuesday.
Senior Aircraftsman Kenneth Ecott, 26, broke down in tears after a jury took two hours to agree that he was not responsible for his actions.
Ecott did not deny having sex with the girl but said he had no memory of it happening. Instead he insisted he had a condition known as "sexsomnia" in which sufferers carry out indecent acts in their sleep.
Screams
It was this rare affliction which caused him to climb naked on top of the girl during a friend's birthday party sleepover, Bournemouth Crown Court was told.
The teenager screamed when she awoke. Ecott was said to have confessed to the girl's family and apologised for having sex with her.
But when he was arrested later that day in his barracks at RAF Brize Norton, Oxfordshire, he told police he was prone to sleepwalking.
He claimed to have been in a state of "automatism" while with the girl, meaning he was not aware of his actions.
This defence was supported by his girlfriend, who told the court that he had fondled her in bed while asleep.
The court was told that Ecott downed a a bottle of vodka last November at the party in Poole, Dorset, where guests slept on air beds in the living room.
The girl woke at 3am to find Ecott laying naked on top of her, screamed, then watched as he slowly got up and walked into the garden.
During his five-day trial, Ecott, who has served in Iraq and Afghanistan, said: "I was drunk and went to sleep, then I woke up and my life was over. I was standing outside, completely naked, wondering what the hell I was doing there. Everyone was asking, "What have you done?" Sleep-walking is the only rational explanation for what I did."
Condition affects one in million adults in UK
Sexsomnia, a form of automatism, affects an estimated one in a million adults in the UK's women as well as men.
It has proved a successful defence in criminal trials because if there is no intention to act, there is no legal responsibility.
In 2005 a man accused of raping a female friend three times in a matter of minutes was cleared claiming he had been sleepwalking.
And earlier this year an elderly motorist who killed a married couple in a high-speed crash was cleared of blame by a judge after claiming he may have been in a state of automatism at the time.
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