London

A woman in Britain has won a huge payout years after a rape case she had filed was dropped over so-called 'sexomnia'. Jade Blue McCrossen-Nethercott, a 32-year-old survivor and activist, was given £35,000 in compensation by the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS), which admitted to its wrong handling of the case and apologised.

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Sexomnia is a rare sleep disorder in which a person is unaware that sex is happening.

In a letter to Jade, CPS “apologised unreservedly” and expressed commitment "to improve every aspect of how life-changing crimes like rape are dealt with”.

Subject of a BBC documentary, Jade said it was a "big triumph" to hold CPS accountable, adding that it "took me to the darkest points of my life.”

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Also Read: Kolkata horror rape: Miscreants vandalise RG Kar Hospital, disrupt midnight protest - VIDEO

She said she sued CPS in search of accountability and to avoid future mistakes in similar rape cases. “For me it's not about the financial side of things. I'm very much wanting to push for systemic changes with the CPS and the legal system advocating for better training, policies, procedures and practices,” she was quoted as saying by BBC.

Centre for Women's Justice, which provided lawyers to Jade, noted that such a payout from CPS was  "extremely rare," BBC reported.

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The rape incident

The incident at the heart of the case happened in 2017. Jade, who was 24 years old at the time, had been at a house party with friends and slept there. She woke up seminude, and found that her necklace was broken. There was a man in the room where Jade had slept.

She felt she was violated. Police was called in, and a rape case was filed.

WATCH: Kolkata rape-murder case: Doctors protest nationwide 'no safety, no duty' | WION Decodes

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What is sexomnia?

First approved as a clinical condition in 2003, sexomnia, or ‘sleep sex’ happens when victims who are sleeping appear to exhibit signs of consent for sexual activity, which is often forgotten by the time the person wakes up.

Accoridng to an article in The Independent, sexmonia has "become popular among lawyers as a defence for accused rapists."

"Medically, it is a type of parasomnia, an umbrella term for sleep disorders in which people experience or exhibit unusual behaviours during sleep, which also includes sleepwalking," said the article. 

“In the case of sexsomnia, people engage in sexual behaviours such as masturbation, sexual movements, or initiating sex with another person,” it quoted  clinical sexologist  Marie Morice as saying. 

Sexomnia happens during non-REM sleep. Non-REM (REM stands for Rapid Eye Movement), which is deeper form of sleep that occurs when your heart rate and body temperature decrease. Considered a form of sleepwalking, sexomnia happens when parts of the brain that control sexual behaviour stay awake while the rest is asleep.

There are very few known instances of sexsomnia, with only a few hundred cases documented worldwide, according to The Independent article. 

Also Read: Over 300 million children victimised by online sexual abuse annually

Why did CPS drop the case of Jade?

The case was dropped by CPS in 2020 just days before it was to go into trial. CPS cited two sleep experts who had said Jade was suffering from sexomnia when the incident happened.

That conclusion came after Jade was given a questionnaire about her sleep habits. She was not interviewed by the experts.

Jade said she did not have sexsomnia, however, sleep experts felt it may have been an isolated episode.

The accused was set free without even facing a jury. That made it impossible for the case to be reopened without compelling evidence.

Jade's legal battle

After the case was dropped, Jade said she felt more upset about it, than the incident itself.

She filed an  appeal in 2021 through the CPS system that gives victims the right to review. The payout and apology letter from a chief crown prosecutor were given after that.

In the apology letter, the CPS admitted the case should have gone into trial, adding it was wrong for it to close it.

(With inputs from agencies)