A man who raped a woman after he had spent 14 hours drinking while staying at a Lake District caravan park has been jailed for six years.
Carlisle Crown Court heard how the woman went to stay at a site in the Windermere area in August 2019. She dozed off on a sofa in one caravan and woke initially to hear 32-year-old Thomas Charleston breathing heavily and moaning nearby.
Charleston then moved closer to the woman and began touching her sexually, without consent. “She describes freezing with fear,” said prosecutor Kim Whittlestone.
He first sexually assaulted the woman and then raped her before giving her a kiss and saying: “Good night pretty.”
In a highly distressed state, the woman left the caravan and called a site security guard before police were also alerted.
Charleston went on trial having denied rape and assault by penetration, putting forward a defence of sexsomnia by claiming he was asleep at the time having been very drunk after consuming alcohol from 1pm to 3am. Jurors convicted him of both crimes after hearing all evidence in the case.
Speaking about the profound impact of Charleston’s offending, the woman described having trust issues since the incident which, she said, drove her to drink and drugs.
The woman had been distressed by the court process and the rapist’s defence, which she described as outrageous. She also became suicidal and destructive in the aftermath and, said Miss Whittlestone: “She now feels she is unable to trust men.”
Passing sentence, Judge Nicholas Barker told Charleston, of Victoria Street, Accrington, he had abused and degraded the woman, describing the sexsomnia claim as a charade.
“I am satisfied, on the evidence I have read in this case, you believed her to be asleep and not to be conscious of what you were doing,” said Judge Barker, who also noted comments made by the defendant to a probation officer.
“I am satisfied you demonstrate no remorse towards your victim. You accept no responsibility for your actions,” the judge added.
Charleston was made subject to the sex offender notification requirements indefinitely.
