'Sexsomniac' told to warn partners he may attack them in his sleep

The man suffers from a rare condition. Photo / 123rf

A man suffering from a rare disorder involving sexual activity during sleep has been ordered by a judge to warn people of the risk he poses.

Dale Kelly, 21, was found not guilty by reason of insanity of sexually assaulting a friend's girlfriend after the jury accepted he was sleepwalking.

The apprentice electrician was unaware of what he was doing when he walked up two flights of stairs and indecently assaulted the woman who was in bed with her boyfriend, York Crown Court was told. Kelly told the jury he had a history of unconscious sexual touching of people sleeping next to him, but had never previously done this while sleepwalking.

Experts confirmed Kelly suffers from the sleep disorder parasomnia, that can involve sleepwalking, and the 'even rarer' form of it called sexsomnia, in which people take part in sexual activity while asleep.

Despite being cleared by the jury last month, Kelly returned to court yesterday for a "disposal" hearing. By law the judge must decide how anyone cleared "by reason of insanity" should be treated.

Judge Simon Hickey imposed a two-year supervision order on Kelly, during which he will attend an alcohol awareness course and a specifically adapted 'thinking skills' programme to learn to cope with his condition. Experts said there was no point sending him to hospital as there was no established treatment for parasomnia.

He was also made the subject of a five-year Sexual Harm Prevention Order. Kelly must not sleep away from his own house unless he has warned anyone — both male and female — about his condition and explained the risks involved. Kelly, of Dalton-le-Dale, County Durham, was further banned from contacting the complainant in the case.

The court heard that the incident happened in April 2017 after Kelly, two friends and the woman had been on a night out and returned to a house in Tadcaster, North Yorkshire.

The drunken group went to bed at 4am, with Kelly and a male friend on the first floor and the couple sharing a bed on the top floor. The woman's boyfriend told the jury he was woken by his girlfriend shouting 'he's tried to rape me'.

Kelly told police he woke up next to the victim who was shouting and he had no idea where he was or how he got there. He told the court his girlfriend was understanding of his condition and he had not tried to have sex with her in his sleep.

He added: "But I do twitch. She has had an elbow in the face and I have kicked her."

Kelly told the jury that he still eats in his sleep and recently consumed three chocolate bars.

Kelly, who has no previous convictions, refused to comment after the case yesterday.

In their unusual verdict, the jury decided Kelly committed the act but that he lacked the mental capacity to commit a crime.