News, views and top stories in your inbox. Don't miss our must-read newsletter Sign up Thank you for subscribing We have more newsletters Show me See our privacy notice Invalid Email

A man who pleasured his "sexsomniac" ex-girlfriend with a vibrator while she was "comatose" in bed has been jailed for three years.

The woman, who has long suffered from the bizarre condition, was fast asleep when she handed her former boyfriend the sex toy and he spent five minutes using it on her, a court heard.

The offender had filmed the incident on his phone and it was only when the woman discovered it days later that she realised what had happened.

She was no longer in a relationship with him when he assaulted her, but was involved with another man.

The ex, who cannot be named for legal reasons, initially walked free when a judge gave him a community sentence for the offence in July.

But he is now behind bars after the case was brought back to court and the "unduly lenient" sentence overturned by senior judges.

Jailing the man for three years, Lord Justice Davis said his former partner had been left feeling "sick, angry and disgusted".

The Appeal Court heard she had long suffered from the bizarre condition, which causes sufferers to become sexually aroused while sleeping.

(Image: Getty)

During their relationship she would "often become sexually active when she was asleep", said Lord Justice Davis.

The man claimed that in these situations she would "initiate sexual activity with him and that he would record it and show it to her when she woke up".

On the day of the offence, he had been visiting when he wandered into her bedroom and saw her "pleasuring herself" with a vibrator, he claimed.

"She didn't speak in her sexsomniac state but held out the vibrator to him," said the judge.

The man, who is in his 30s, took the toy and filmed himself using it on her while she was in an unconscious state, the court heard.

He pleaded guilty to assault by penetration at court earlier this year but escaped being put behind bars.

However, the case was back in court after a reference by the attorney general, Jeremy Wright QC, who said the sentence was far too soft.

Paul Jarvis, representing Mr Wright, said the sleeping woman could not consent and the offence had taken a heavy toll on her.

(Image: Getty)

She is now wary of slipping into a deep sleep for fear of being exploited, and has resorted to taking anti-depressants.

But she is now clear that she doesn't want her ex behind bars, he continued.

Upping the sentence, Lord Justice Davis said it seemed clear that "sexual activity only took place while the victim was sleeping in the latter years of their relationship".

"So it appears that even during their relationship the offender was engaging in sexual activity with the victim when she was in no position to consent," he added.

On the day of the offence, the victim had effectively been "comatose", he continued.

The offender was described as "immature" despite his age, but in many ways a "good man".

"But what he did on this occasion was very very bad," said Lord Justice Davis.

"And the circumstances of the case simply don't justify the radical departure from the sentencing guidelines taken by the crown court judge.

"This was, in truth, grave offending which required an immediate and significant custodial sentence."

The judge, sitting with Mrs Justice Carr and Mrs Justice Patterson, ordered that the man should surrender to police custody to begin his now three-year jail term.