An actor accused of raping a teenage girl yesterday blamed it on ‘sexsomnia’, a condition which he claims causes him to have sex in his sleep. Simon Morris, who appeared in a film with Michael Caine and in the TV soap Hollyoaks, is alleged to have attacked the 15-year-old after she drank cocktails at a birthday party.
But the 42-year-old told a jury he had no recollection of the alleged rape because he was sleepwalking at the time.
When arrested he initially refused to believe that he had sex with the girl until police presented him with DNA evidence, Cardiff Crown Court heard. He told jurors: ‘I have a history of sleepwalking, checking my phone, gyrating against door frames and having sex with partners in my sleep. It’s quite embarrassing but I once engaged in sexual activity with a recent ex-girlfriend.
‘I climbed on top of her in the middle of the night in a blank state. I have also had partial sex with my current partner and gyrated against her leg.’
He told the court he had undergone tests at a sleep clinic in Edinburgh to ‘try to understand’ his condition.
Sue Ferrier, prosecuting, called his sexsomnia claim a ‘feeble excuse to escape the inevitable’.
She said Morris met the teenager in September 2011 at a birthday party, where she had been given two glasses of champagne when she arrived.
‘Morris took an interest in her – winking at her, helping her pour drinks and even offering her to stay with him in London,’ said Mrs Ferrier.
‘The girl got drunk on cocktails and her father put her to sleep in an upstairs room. Morris then checked on her after she was sick and carried her into another bed.
‘The girl’s father tried to wake his daughter at 6am to go home, but as she was fast asleep he left her in the bed for the night.’
The girl’s statement to police described how she woke soon afterwards to see Morris standing in front of her, touching her sexually.
He had sex with her before leaving, when the ‘full horror’ hit, her statement said.
Morris told how he was ‘petrified’ to be handcuffed and arrested later that morning. He said: ‘I’m too much of a gentleman, I wouldn’t even do this to my worst enemy.’ He added that he did not believe they had even had sex until he was presented with the DNA evidence.
Morris’s current girlfriend, Helen Cole, is standing by him and told police he once tried to have sex with her while he was asleep.
Morris appeared with Michael Caine and Andy Serkis in the 2000 film Shiner and on Hollyoaks in 2001.
He also appeared on the West End stage during his acting career, which lasted between 1996 and 2006.
He later set up a consultancy firm which has since folded and he has also acted as an escort to celebrities.
Morris denies rape and sexual assault. The trial continues.
DailyMail
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