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HALIFAX — A Halifax-area man who had sex with a sleeping female friend has been convicted of sexual assault, largely based on text messages he sent to the complainant after the crime.

Robert Shawn Burton of Lower Sackville, N.S., told the court he and the woman were engaged in consensual foreplay, and when sexual intercourse began, he stopped as soon as she told him to stop.

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The complainant testified there was no consent to any sex acts, telling the court that she was asleep when the intercourse started early on Feb. 3, 2014.

In a written decision released Monday, Justice Joshua Arnold of Nova Scotia Supreme Court said Burton’s version of events was not credible.

The judge cited text messages from the accused, who apologized for his behaviour and did not deny the woman’s allegation that he had sex with her while she was asleep in his bed.

The judge said Burton’s testimony during his trail in December and January was tailored to defeat the woman’s allegations and did not make sense when compared with the text messages he wrote to her after the assault.