‘It sets a scary precedent’: Woman suing CPS after it dropped her rape case over claims she had sexsomnia
Thirteen days before the man accused of raping her was due to stand trial, Jade McCrossen-Nethercott was told her case was being dropped.
After a phone call from the police the day before, the then 24-year-old met with the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS).
They told her that because she was asleep when the incident happened, two sleep experts employed by the defence team had claimed she could have suffered a random episode of ‘sexsomnia’ – and therefore the case was no longer viable.
Sexsomnia is a rare sleep condition that causes people to engage in sexual activity while unconscious.
In her police statement after the incident in 2017 she had briefly mentioned being a deep sleeper and sleepwalking a couple of times when she was a teenager – but in the three years since it had never been brought up again.
“It was the first I’d ever heard of it,” she told Sky News.
“I was trying to understand. It didn’t make any sense to me. It was baffling. I was completely shellshocked.”
Pic: BBC
Ms McCrossen-Nethercott had gone back to a friend’s house for a drink after a night out in south London when she woke up feeling as though she had been sexually assaulted.
She had fallen asleep on the sofa at around 2am and awoke roughly three hours later naked from the waist down and with her necklace broken on the floor.
A man, whose semen was later found on her vaginal swabs, was sat next to her on the sofa.
Asking him what had happened, he replied: “I thought you were awake.”
Ms McCrossen-Nethercott reported it to the police, underwent forensic testing, and the man was charged with rape.
He had offered no comment to police, pleaded not guilty at magistrates court and was due to appear at crown court in just under two weeks when the CPS discontinued the case.
“I made a few blasé comments to the police about sleepwalking when I was younger.
“They were clutching at straws, it was them panicking,” she said.
Sleep experts had never met or spoken to her
With the right to appeal the CPS’s decision she requested all the case documents, including those linked to the two sleep experts.
“Those two experts had never spoken to me on the phone – let alone met me in person,” Ms McCrossen-Nethercott said.
“Their decision was based on a 15-question questionnaire – and the defendant’s statement.
“It was so loosely drawn together – this ‘argument’ that I had sexsomnia.”
She then commissioned her own sleep expert, from the London Sleep Centre, to provide counterevidence.
He had never come across an alleged victim having the condition. In the UK only people accused of rape or sexual assault have alleged to have had it – using it as a defence.
The expert also explained it usually occurs in men – who have had a history of it before.
Pic: BBC
Sleep tests commissioned by him showed Ms McCrossen-Nethercott had mild sleep apnoea – when breathing briefly stops and starts again during sleep.
Because this has been identified as one of the triggers of sexsomnia, he said he couldn’t rule out an isolated episode.
“Sleep apnoea is so common a lot of people don’t even know they have it,” she said.
Determined to prove the CPS wrong, she turned to a lawyer instead.
According to the law in England and Wales, a person cannot consent to sex if they are asleep.
But someone cannot be found guilty of raping someone if they can prove they had “reasonable belief” the other person consented.
The lawyer, who had defended men in cases involving sexsomnia, claimed sleep and medical experts are never able to definitively prove someone has the disorder.
This means it could be used to convince a jury someone is not guilty.
Finally she submitted her appeal.
CPS review ruled decision was wrong
A retired crown prosecutor not involved in the original case concluded it should have gone to trial.
He said the sleep experts and the defendant’s claims of sexsomnia should have been cross-examined.
Ultimately he believed it was “more likely than not” the defendant would have been convicted by a jury.
But despite his verdict and an apology from the CPS, the case cannot be reopened, as the man was formally acquitted and there are laws against double jeopardy.
Ms McCrossen-Nethercott told Sky News that with just 1.3% of rape cases resulting in a prosecution in England and Wales, she did not expect the case to reach trial.
But when she was told there would be one, she says: “I was hopeful and optimistic.
“I felt confident in how I reported what had happened.”
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With the help of the Centre for Women’s Justice, she has now submitted a letter of claim to sue the CPS on human rights grounds.
“The CPS let me down and they’re letting every other woman and girl down to,” she said.
“I did as much as I could and yet nothing can be done.
“It’s really hard to heal from something that makes no sense.”
After further communication with the CPS last year, the now 30-year-old was unable to work for six months due to mental ill-heath.
“Last year I had really bad dark times. But I’m in a better place now, with the support of my friends, family and my partner.”
A CPS spokesperson said in a statement: “We have apologised unreservedly to the victim in this case. The expert evidence and defendant’s account should have been challenged and put before a jury to decide.
“We are committed to improving every aspect of how life-changing crimes like rape are dealt with and are working closely with the police to transform how they are handled.
“We remain positive about the progress that is being made but recognise there is still a long way to go so more victims come forward and report with confidence.”
Actor Timothy West has died peacefully in his sleep aged 90, “with his friends and family at the end”.
He was known for many roles in television and the theatre, including popular soaps Coronation Street and EastEnders.
Husband to Prunella Scales – who played Sybil Fawlty in Fawlty Towers – the pair travelled together on UK and overseas canals in the Channel 4 series Great Canal Journeys.
His children Juliet, Samuel and Joseph West said in a statement issued by his agent: “After a long and extraordinary life on and off the stage, our darling father Timothy West died peacefully in his sleep yesterday evening. He was 90 years old.
“Tim was with friends and family at the end. He leaves his wife Prunella Scales, to whom he was married for 61 years, a sister, a daughter, two sons, seven grandchildren and four great-grandchildren. All of us will miss him terribly.
“We would like to thank the incredible NHS staff at St George’s Hospital, Tooting and at Avery Wandsworth for their loving care during his last days.”
The couple married in 1963 and had two sons, actor Samuel and Joseph.
West was previously married to actor Jacqueline Boyer from 1956 to 1961, with whom he had a daughter, Juliet.
West with his wife, Prunella Scales. Pic: Geoff Pugh/Shutterstock
West with his wife at a charity dinner in 1998. Pic: PA
In 1984, West was appointed CBE for his services to drama in the Queen’s Birthday Honours List.
He was the winner of an RTS television award for his lead role in Churchill And The Generals, released in 1979, according to imdb.com.
In his career, he played Winston Churchill three times, including in The Last Bastion (1984) and in Hiroshima (1995).
West with his son Samuel in 1999. Pic: PA
West was also nominated for best actor in the 1976 BAFTAs for his part as Edward VII in the historical drama.
Four years later, he was nominated in the same category for a number of roles, including as best actor in Crime And Punishment.
West (right) in BBC drama, Last Tango In Halifax. Pic: PA
After a small part as Eric Babbage in Coronation Street in 2013, West appeared in 2014 for the first time as Stan Carter in EastEnders.
He also held other popular TV roles, such as in BBC comedy-drama Last Tango In Halifax.
In the long-running BBC comedy, Not Going Out, he played Geoffrey, the father of Lucy Adams, played by Sally Bretton.
He was the ruthless self-made businessman Bradley Hardacre in comedy-drama Brass, playing the role from 1982 to 1984 before returning for a third series in 1990.
West as King Lear during a 2003 English Touring Theatre production of William Shakespeare’s tragedy. Pic: PA
In 2019, the Bradford-born actor played Private Godfrey in Dad’s Army: The Lost Episodes, a recreation of three missing episodes of the BBC comedy.
His film roles included Commissioner Berthier in The Day Of The Jackal (1973), King Francis in From Ever After: A Cinderella Story (1998), and Nazi physician and war criminal Karl Gebhardt in Hitler: The Last Ten Days (1973).
He was also a regular performer of Shakespeare, playing Lear in 2002 and 2016.
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The actor performed at the Piccadilly Theatre, with the Royal Shakespeare Company, the National Theatre, and the West End, portraying many classic roles, including Shylock, Falstaff, and Macbeth.
Prior to acting, West attended the John Lyon School and Bristol Grammar School.
He worked as an office furniture salesman and a recording technician before becoming an assistant stage manager at Wimbledon Theatre in 1956.
UK
Man jailed for more than three years for loading illegal streaming services on to Amazon Fire Sticks
A 29-year-old man has been jailed for more than three years for loading illicit TV streaming services onto Amazon Fire Sticks.
Jonathan Edge, from Liverpool, pleaded guilty to three offences under the Fraud Act.
He was sentenced to three years and four months in prison, which included a separate concurrent sentence of two years and three months for accessing and viewing the content he was supplying.
Edge ran a service uploading illegal services to Fire Stick devices in return for cash-in-hand payments at his home, Liverpool Crown Court heard.
He used Facebook advertising and word-of-mouth recommendations to run his operation.
He ignored multiple warnings about the illegal activity, which were referenced by the judge and treated as an aggravating factor in sentencing.
The prosecution was undertaken by the Premier League and supported by several other organisations, including FACT (Federation Against Copyright Theft) and Merseyside Police.
Kevin Plumb, Premier League general counsel, said: “The significant sentence handed down to the individual involved once again serves to highlight the severity of his actions.
“We will continue to pursue legal action against those supplying unauthorised access to Premier League football, regardless of the scale or mode of operation. Ignoring warnings to stop only served to make the consequences worse for the individual.”
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Detective Sergeant Steve Frame from Merseyside Police said: “Merseyside Police is committed to working in collaboration to investigate intellectual property theft and we welcome today’s sentence handed to Edge.
“Many people see no harm in illegally streaming TV services but they are wrong, and this outcome should serve as a further warning how seriously such copyright theft continues to be taken.”
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