A Nottingham student who claimed the rape was due to “sexsomnia” has been given a lengthy prison sentence

A Nottingham Trent University student who claimed he suffered from “sexsomnia” before raping a fellow student and sexually assaulting another has been jailed for 10 years. Judge Michael Auty KC told Luke Fox his first victim was “very vulnerable” because she had been drinking a lot of alcohol when she woke up to find the defendant raping her.

And the judge reminded the 24-year-old how the second victim, who was attacked almost a year later, “cried on the witness stand” as she relived the ordeal at his hands while testifying at a trial. Sending the defendant to prison, Judge Auty said: “What you did to these two was extremely traumatic and whatever the consequences may be for you today, they will hit (the first victim) much harder.” find it difficult to leave this behind and instead learn to live with it instead of forgetting it.

“Everyone recognizes that the sentences in this case must be consecutive, but you demonstrated dignity in your pre-sentence report by recognizing the terrible impact your behavior has likely caused on these two.”

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After a nearly two-week trial at Nottingham Crown Court earlier this year, a jury took just hours to find Luke Fox guilty of rape and assault against the two victims, one of whom was abused after a party at the university’s Clifton campus.

That victim told the court how she woke up to find Fox raping her while she lay on a bed, “frozen in fear” and waited until he fell asleep before fleeing. Less than a year later, the second victim awoke to find the defendant “spooning” her with his hands in her underwear.

She described how he looked like he was “in a trance” with his eyes open, but when she asked what he was doing, he took his hands out of her underwear, said he was sorry, left the room and left his victim back in tears.

Speaking at the start of the trial in late February, Andrew Fitch-Holland, prosecuting, said the first incident – the rape – occurred at NTU’s Clifton campus when Fox and the victim were both students. He said: “There was a party and after it ended she and the defendant ended up in a bedroom.

“She fell asleep and remembered being woken up by the feeling of someone touching her leg and lower back. She pretended to yawn and sat up, deducing that it was Luke Fox, still sitting on the floor, petting her.

“(She) decided it was best not to make a scene in the hope that this unwanted contact would end and went back to sleep. But that wasn’t the end of it, as (she) describes waking up after being penetrated and, in her words, “waking up to him raping me.”

Mr Fitch-Holland said the second incident occurred outside Nottingham when the victim told police she woke up after an evening of drinking to find the defendant with his hands in her underwear. He said: “She said she turned to the defendant and asked him repeatedly: ‘What are you doing?’ and asked him to stop.

“(She) said that Fox asked to speak to her earlier in the afternoon. He was very upset and very apologetic for his previous behavior. The defendant then further informed her that he believed he was suffering from “sexsomnia” and gave an explanation for what he believed this condition entailed – namely, that he could engage in sexual activity in his sleep, of which he had no knowledge still had control.”

Mr Fitch-Holland said both victims had spoken to each other and were initially prepared to accept Fox’s explanation of the condition he was said to be suffering from. He said: “But some time later both women became aware of a further complaint against the defendant when another student alleged that the defendant had coerced her with intimate photographs taken without her consent.

“At this time, and in support of this other student, both women decided to contact university authorities and express their concerns regarding this defendant’s conduct. This ultimately led to the complainants contacting the police and the defendant was subsequently arrested.”

The prosecutor said: “In his police interview the defendant stated that he believed he was suffering from sexsomnia. He told police that it was effectively self-diagnosis and that, although he said he had done extensive online research on the condition, he had not sought out an experienced doctor or other practitioner.

“He told police that based on his research he believed that alcohol and some recreational drugs could trigger the condition. If the alleged sexual activity occurred contrary to his belief, it must have been a result of sexsomnia.”

In a statement about the aftermath of the rape, the rape victim said she now suffers from “trust issues” because of what happened to her. She said: “I panic when people come too close to me when I go out.”

And in her statement, the sexual assault victim said: “What you did to me is unforgivable. I never thought I would have to take a break from studying, I thought I would be stronger than this, but this got me down.”

Fiona McNeill, mitigating, said her client, who has no previous convictions, had provided a number of “extremely telling” character references. She said: “He has shown a degree of insight and he is very aware of the implications and fully accepts the inevitable verdict.”

“He is really someone who can be seen as a positive character. He is clearly a well-liked and respected member of his family.”

As well as the prison sentence, Fox, of Hesketh Road, Southport, Merseyside, was placed on the sex offenders register for life.

In a statement released to mark Fox’s guilty verdict, a spokesman for Nottingham Trent University said: “We oppose all forms of sexual violence and harassment and want everyone in the NTU community to always feel safe and secure here. “When incidents are reported to us, we immediately investigate the matter, support those involved and take decisive action.

“We have a program of year-round initiatives, including our Respect and Consent campaign, run in conjunction with the Students’ Union, where we provide a range of guidance and advice and set out the behavioral expectations for our community. We have a consent training program for all first-year students, basic staff training in the event a student discloses an incident of sexual violence, and sexual violence liaison officers trained to provide technical support to students.

“We will continue to work with our student union and our student and colleague networks on additional measures to ensure our university is a safe place to learn and work.”