A rape trial jury has rejected a graduate's bizarre claim that he had unintentionally had sex with a slumbering female when he was in a deep sleep.

Karl Gammon, 24, an engineering project manager, is now facing a jail sentence.

He was convicted unanimously of raping the young woman at his then home in Albert Street, Loughborough, on the night of Sunday March 7, 2016.

The sex assault happened after Gammon spent the evening at a bar with the victim and her female friend.

All three had drunkenly crashed out in his double bed, with no expectation that anything sexual would happen. Both women considered him trustworthy, Leicester Crown Court was told.

The victim's friend claimed that prior to the rape, she awoke in the early hours to find Gammon "thrusting" in a sexual way on top of the heavily intoxicated complainant next to her.

The friend intervened to stop him by pushing him and saying "get off her," which he did before falling asleep.

The jury acquitted Gammon of sexual assault in relation to getting on top of the complainant.

The jury of nine women and three men was told that in the morning Gammon gave the witness, who shared the bed, a lift to an address in Loughborough - and she made no mention to him about pushing him off her friend in the night.

The prosecution said he then drove home and took advantage of the lone victim, whilst she was still deeply sleeping off a hangover.

Gammon claimed he had no recollection of anything sexual happening and insisted he simply returned to bed to sleep and must have involuntarily acted sexually whilst in an unconscious state.

It was the only explanation he gave as to why his DNA was on an intimate swab later taken from the victim, who strongly suspected she had been raped and sought medical help.

Gareth Weetman, prosecuting, told the jury at the start of the trial: "It's not going to be disputed he did the act, but the issue to whether or not he did it intentionally - whether he was awake at the time.

"You must decide what was going on in the defendant's mind at the material time.

"The allegation is that Gammon sexually assaulted the woman when she was asleep.

"The key issue isn't about whether she was consenting, but his intention.

"The prosecution case is he did intend doing what he did and he's directly responsible."

The court heard that the victim, her friend and the defendant had agreed to simply share the only bed in his house to go to sleep on.

Mr Weetman suggested that Gammon - who was in a steady relationship with a partner living elsewhere - might have offered to sleep on the sofa downstairs and let the two women have the double bed.

The court heard that the victim, who had vomited in the kitchen sink, needed help upstairs and into bed after the night out.

The woman's friend had returned downstairs to carry on drinking with the defendant and to play cards, before they both retired to bed, getting in either side of the victim.

Mr Weetman told the jury to bear in mind the fact the defendant was sufficiently awake to drive the friend to a local address, before going back home to bed, prior to the rape.

The victim told the jury she had drunkenly gone to bed in a football shirt - and also a pair of knickers which had been mysteriously removed by the time she woke up.

She was vaguely aware of sexual activity, initially thinking it was her boyfriend - and then realised it was the defendant in bed and told him to "stop it."

Mr Weetman said: "She fell back to sleep and woke up feeling dreadful; worse than she'd ever felt with any hangover previously."

During the remainder of the day, spent with the defendant, she was piecing together what it was she could remember.

The victim then spoke to her friend, who told her she had stopped Gammon from attempting sex with her in the middle of the night.

The confused complainant went home and discussed the matter with her mother and another friend before having a medical examination, when internal swabs were taken.

What did Gammon tell police and the jury?

Gammon, latterly of Race Course Mews, Loughborough, wept after being convicted of rape.

He was remanded into custody to await sentencing at the end of August.

During the trial, he told the jury he was in shock when the police arrested him three months after the incident, when he had emphatically denied anything sexual had happened.

It was another three months before he was told, in a second police interview, that DNA evidence showed sexual activity had taken place.

Gammon, a Loughborough University graduate, told the police during questioning that he did not think he was prone to sleepwalking.

But the jury was told his mother later recalled he had slept walked in childhood and his partner also claimed Gammon had occasionally tried to sexually grope her in his sleep.

A sleep expert said that based on what he had been told by the defendant, his mother and partner, there were some "markers" to indicate Gammon, a vivid dreamer, may be likely to perform actions in his sleep.

Gammon described himself as "smashed" and "very drunk" that night with several blanks in relation to the evening.

He said he had no recollection of having allegedly climbed on the complainant in the night.

He said that after dropping off the complainant's friend the next morning, he drove home to bed and "went straight to sleep."

He said he then recalled waking up and saying "good morning" to the complainant and they continued without anything untoward happening. He ordered a pizza delivery, they went to the shops and for a walk, and when his girlfriend came round the three had supper. There was no indication from the victim that anything was wrong and she later sent him a text, thanking him for putting her up.

Gammon said when the police arrested him several months later: "I was in shock and confusion.

"It's like being told something that has happened and you don't know it.

"I thought it must have been a misunderstanding and couldn't make sense of it.

"I couldn't remember anything.

"I don't think either (the complainant or her friend) would lie ... just thought there must have been some confusion or something."

'I don't know what happened, I have no memory'

Of the "massive bombshell" DNA evidence, he said: "I don't understand how it's correct but it's something I have to accept.

He said it was a case of him having too much to drink and being asleep.

He told the prosecutor, during cross-examination: "You're trying to get me to explain something I can't explain.

"I don't know what happened, I have no memory."

Mr Weetman said: "You had too much to drink and got carried away and behaved in a way that you wouldn't normally do with this woman."

"No, that's not true," said Gammon.

(Image: Mike Sewell)

Mr Weetman said: "It's an excuse you made up at the end of last year to try and explain the scientific truth."

"No, not at all," the defendant replied.

What did the judge say?

Judge Philip Head said, after the guilty verdict, there was insufficient evidence to be sure the jury believed the defendant - who admitted having taken some recreational drugs in the past such as 'legal' laughing gas and illegal ecstasy - had either plied the victim with a "stupifying drug" or excess alcohol in order to rape her, as opposed to having "taken advantage of the situation" that emerged at the end of the evening.

The court heard that the victim now felt as though she had been "stabbed in the back" by the defendant because she had trusted him and then been abused.

What did the police say after the verdict?

After the hearing, Detective Sergeant Tom Brenton, who led the investigation, said: "Gammon preyed upon his victim when she was in a vulnerable state and then claimed to have no knowledge of the rape when he was questioned by the police.

"The victim has been living with the trauma of that night since the offence occurred more than two years ago and his refusal to accept what he has done caused her too relive the experience as she gave evidence against him.

"I hope today's guilty verdict will go some way to providing closure for her."