Sentencing date set for man who raped girlfriend in her sleep

A man who regularly raped and sexually assaulted his girlfriend in her sleep is to be sentenced next week, the Central Criminal Court has heard.

The 25-year-old Norwegian man pleaded guilty to one count of rape of a 28-year-old Irish woman at their apartment in Dublin on a date in April 2012. He also admitting sexually assaulting her on a date between September 28th, 2011 and April 30th, 2012.

The crimes first came to light in April 2012 when the woman woke up to find herself wet with what she believed to be semen. She confronted her boyfriend who admitted he had had sex with her while she slept.

On another occasion she woke with the feeling that she had been penetrated to find him masturbating and watching porn on his laptop beside her in bed.

He later admitted that he had raped and sexually assaulted her in her sleep throughout their relationship, often while she was under the influence of medication.

In an email exchange between the victim and the man after they had broken up he made detailed admissions of his actions, including raping her up to ten times and touching her in her sleep up to three times per week. These emails became the basis of a garda investigation.

Mr Justice Patrick McCarthy remanded the man in custody to next Monday for sentencing.