Woman paid £35,000 over CPS’s decision to drop rape case after ‘sexsomnia’ claim

girlfreddy@lemmy.ca to World News@lemmy.world – 147 points – Woman paid £35,000 over CPS’s decision to drop rape case after ‘sexsomnia’ claim
theguardian.com

A woman has been awarded £35,000 in compensation from the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) after her rape case was dropped over claims that she could have had an episode of a rare sleep condition called sexsomnia.

Jade Blue McCrossen-Nethercott, 32, contacted police in 2017, when she was 24, after waking up to discover she was half-naked, and with the sense that she had been raped while she slept.

Three years later – and days before the man charged with raping her was due to stand trial – lawyers from the CPS said her case was being dropped because two sleep experts said it was possible McCrossen-Nethercott had had an episode of sexsomnia – a medically recognised, but rare, sleep disorder which can cause a person to engage in sexual acts in their sleep, while appearing to be awake and consenting. The case was closed and the defendant acquitted.

In 2022, McCrossen-Nethercott sued the CPS after it admitted her rape case should not have been dropped. Now, the BBC has reported that she has been paid £35,000 by the CPS, which said it had “apologised unreservedly” to her and was “committed to improving every aspect of how life-changing crimes like rape are dealt with”.

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“Sorry we fucked your life up and let your alleged rapist free, here’s probably not even a years worth of pay to compensate”

When the case was dropped, McCrossen-Nethercott requested all the evidence and was shocked by the weight given to evidence from sleep experts who had never met her.

Wow... that was indeed quite the fuck up. "I herd u can fuk wen slippin" and it was dismissed. Amazing.

I have a friend who legitimately has this illness.

He first realised when he was dreaming about having sex with his girlfriend and woke up to actually having sex with her. They’re married now but sleep in separate beds, understanably.

That’s sort of whack that they’d issue that diagnosis on the grounds that she was a deep sleeper and had sleepwalked once or twice in her teens.

It boggles the mind that the first and seemingly only time she woke up wondering “did I have sex?” the experts just jumped to it being sexsomnia.

Personal confession: I experience it. Not diagnosed, but by the time I was 19, I knew. Since then it’s a part of the conversation I have with anyone I share a bed with. (And the folks I share a bed with also confirm that it happens. Lots of “Were you awake when…?” questions. Fortunately, no misunderstandings or upset feelings.)

I know everyone is different, but I feel she is the best judge of herself. It’s already established that the experts were wrong and CPS reacted inappropriately, but… ugh. You fucking know. Your partners tell you about it. You usually wake up during or just after.
I can’t imagine her loss or despair at being told people who never met her know her better than herself and thus she is going to be denied justice. Much less the rage that they let the man walk free on such a flimsy reasoning.

That's horrible, but I was relieved to learn that CPS doesn't stand for, "ChIld Protective Services," in the UK. I was expecting a much darker story when I clicked.

[Article answers second paragraph]

Interesting. The situation really puts into perspective how both genders have it difficult. It can really rule out anything, if the man really raped her, the woman caused a fake accusation or it was just a big misunderstanding.

Firstly, the woman who was suspected to have sexsomnia, did she really have sexsomnia? And what evidence did the research facility produce?

Secondly, the man who is blamed to have raped her, if consent was given while she was deemed as fully awake, then why is this situation occurring? Did he fail to realise she is not fully awake?

When McCrossen-Nethercott made her statement, she was asked about her sleep, and said she had always been a deep sleeper and had sleepwalked a couple of times as a teenager.

When the case was dropped, McCrossen-Nethercott requested all the evidence and was shocked by the weight given to evidence from sleep experts who had never met her.

Thanks for highlighting the parts of the article. Certainly answers some questions I had. The thing that can be said is that there isn't clinical proof of the sexsomnia. So there is a low chance of her having it.

The man may have raped her. however, why didn't he run away sooner? Usually perpetrators escape after the abuse (asking a question).

How about you believe women rather than come up with convoluted reasons for why they might not have been raped?

I do believe she feels raped, and I do feel the sexsomnia excuse is BS especially since other experts say that sexomnia exists only in papers used to defend rapists. There should've been a fair trial to determine if the rape indeed occured according to the rules of law (that does not mean she cannot feel violated if that's ruled out though). But to say that you just blindly need to believe her, or the accused is a but too much for my taste.

I will probably not be liked for this opinion but I hope we don't fall into the trap of always believing one or the other side without critical thinking. The victim deserves to be believed so that there will be an investigation and a court ruling and the accused deserves to be presumed innocent until proven otherwise. The judicialsystem is not flawless (see this example) and the negatives from those flaws have impact on both the accused and the victim. Only not always in the same amount or in the same time.

sexomnia exists only in papers used to defend rapists

It exists, my wife has told me I’ve done it multiple times. It wasn’t to completion, I fell fully back asleep half way through, but sex was initiated. I was not conscious for the experience.

I have no opinion on this case but the phenomenon does exist.

Sorry... "feels" raped?

What the fuck?

“With the sense she has been raped wile she slept”

Seems to me an appropriate short hand to what was written. And i also believe that in rape cases, like all criminal cases, the victim should be trusted but verified. And the accused is innocent until proven guilty. And that the names of both parties should be sealed until the matter is resolved.

Hi, to answer your question I'd like to ask what convoluted reason did I state?

It's nice to see you replied to my comment, and the last part of my comment was just a question which I am confused about.

And sorry for coming across as not believing. You could consider that serious accusations shouldn't be based on beliefs - but facts.

This part. Where you came up for a ridiculous reason why it might not have been rape:

The man may have raped her. however, why didn’t he run away sooner. Usually perpetrators escape after the abuse.

Oh sorry forgot the question mark there. My bad.

why didn’t he run away sooner? Usually perpetrators escape after the abuse

No, they don't. Statistically the majority of rapes are by people who know the victim personally. In cases of intimate partner rape the perpetrator does not typically "run away from" his wife or girlfriend etc afterwards.

Thanks for replying. I do see that there is some incompatibility with both our proof. However, I do realise that you're talking about perpetrators which are close to the victim - and that may yield a different response to that of a random person/ newly met person.

Suffice to say, it does make sense that persons closest to the victim would be the perpetrator.

I confronted him saying, ‘What’s happened? What have you done?’ And he said something a bit odd I guess, but he did say ‘I thought you were awake’. And he just bolted out basically, and left the door open,” she told the BBC. She called a friend in distress, and police arrived and took her for forensic tests. Vaginal swabs detected semen which would later be matched to the man.

He did run away when confronted.

The question was why he didn't do it sooner. Not when confronted.

If he knew he did something wrong, illegal, and immoral then why did he stay and wait until the victim wakes up.

You think rapists are perfectly rational actors? They only make good decisions?

There are tons of reasons rapists think they can get away with rape. He clearly had one in mind until she confronted him directly.

To answer this, no they are not perfectly rational. However they are not dumb, anyone can be a rapist, it is a mental disorder which doesn't correlate with their IQ.

The 'tons of reasons' statement would be interesting to read about, as usually a perpetrators focus is rape and escape. Not befriending the victim - i might suggest how inconsistent this sounds.

Unless the victim has other mental problems then this could occur. However, I was simply seeking an answer, not an explosive statement.

It's not too late to delete this absolutely awful take. Jesus fucking Christ, read the article before you say stupid shit like this.

[Article answers second paragraph]

Thought that an exclaimer will work for some ignorant people but that's how stuff works.

And I am also interested of why are you so deliberated of calling this 'stupid shit', and 'awful take'? I know I have put it in words wrong and next time I'll do it better, but I assure you fail to read and understand my comment first.

I'll refrain from deleting this as I know there are people who understand what I wrote.