‘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.”
Read more from Sky News:
Hate crimes hit record high in England and Wales
23-year-old TikToker found dead during Iran protests
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.”
Liverpool have won the Premier League title after a 5-1 victory over Tottenham at Anfield.
Arne Slot’s men did it in impressive style, turning over Spurs in a convincing win.
It was a rocky start for the Reds after Dominic Solanke put the north London side ahead.
However, fortunes quickly changed in the first half as Liverpool scored three times without a response.
Captain Virgil van Dijk (centre) celebrates. Pic: Reuters
Salah on his knees in celebration after the final whistle. Pic: AP
Liverpool’s Harvey Elliott (below) and Jarell Quansah celebrate after full-time. Pic: PA
Slot cheers after the full-time whistle. Pic: AP
In the second half, it took until the 63rd minute for Mohamed Salah to make it 4-1 before a fifth followed.
The Reds have won the title in manager Arne Slot’s first season in charge, and move level with fierce rivals Manchester United on 20 league championships.
But it makes them arguably the most successful English club ever as they have won more European Cup or Champions League titles.
Liverpool captain Virgil van Dijk told Sky Sports after the final whistle: “It’s special and it’s something that we don’t take for granted. It’s amazing.
“A lot of emotions before the game, during the whole week, but we got the job done and we (are) truly deserved champions of England. (Liverpool is) the most beautiful club in the world and I think we deserve all of this. Let’s enjoy the next couple of weeks and let it sink in.”
Liverpool’s Kostas Tsimikas poses with a Premier League trophy cut out. Pic: Reuters
Manager Arne Slot and his team after the final whistle. Pic: AP
Slot took over last summer from Jurgen Klopp, who guided them to their previous and maiden Premier League title triumph in 2020, when the COVID-19 lockdown saw matches played behind closed doors.
He is the first Dutch manager to win the Premier League and the fifth man to do so in a debut campaign after Jose Mourinho, Carlo Ancelotti, Manuel Pellegrini, and Antonio Conte.
Speaking to Sky Sports he said: “They [the players] did an outstanding job today. The main job was to win. Everyone said we had got it already. But we had to make sure and we got over the line.”
Several players, including Alisson Becker, Trent Alexander-Arnold, Virgil van Dijk, and Mohamed Salah, played leading roles in both the 2025 and 2020 campaigns.
Van Dijk and Salah recently signed new contracts extending their careers at the club.
Mohamed Salah takes a selfie with fans after scouring the fourth Liverpool goal. Pic: AP
Fans at Anfield during the game. Pic: AP
Fans in the stands at Anfield before full-time. Pic: Reuters
Liverpool will have to wait until the final game of the season – at home to Crystal Palace on 25 May – to be presented with the Premier League trophy.
It will be the first time the club’s fans will have seen their side lift the top-flight title in person since 1990.
This breaking news story is being updated and more details will be published shortly.
Please refresh the page for the fullest version.
You can receive breaking news alerts on a smartphone or tablet via the Sky News app. You can also follow us on WhatsApp and subscribe to our YouTube channel to keep up with the latest news.
Two pro-Palestinian demonstrators have thrown red powder on Tower Bridge – just moments before leading runners in the London Marathon went past.
The protesters were arrested on suspicion of causing a public nuisance and remain in custody, said the Metropolitan Police.
A video shared by Youth Demand, which is calling for a trade embargo on Israel, shows two people jumping over a barrier that separates spectators from the race course.
The pair, wearing t-shirts that say “Youth Demand: Stop Arming Israel”, are then seen standing in the middle of the road on the bridge.
Pic: LNP
They throw red powder in the air as an official marathon car goes past displaying the race time.
A motorbike with a cameraman on board continues along the route, while a second motorbike stops and one of the riders gets off and pushes the pair out of the way, just before the men’s elite runners pass.
Several police officers then jump over the barrier and detain the pair, the footage shows.
There appeared to be no impact on the marathon.
More than 56,000 participants were expected to take part in the 26.2-mile race through the capital.
Sabastian Sawe of Kenya won the men’s elite race in a time of two hours, two minutes and 27 seconds, while Ethiopia’s Tigst Assefa shattered the women’s-only world record in two hours, 15 minutes and 50 seconds.
Assefa beat the previous best of two hours, 16 minutes and 16 seconds set last year in London by Kenyan Peres Jepchirchir.
Read more:
Sky’s Beth Rigby running marathon in honour of ‘dearest friend’
Badenoch does not rule out local coalitions with Reform
Pic: LNP
The Metropolitan Police said in a statement: “At around 10.38am, two protesters from Youth Demand jumped over barriers at Tower Bridge and threw red paint on to the road.
“Marathon event staff intervened to remove the protesters from the path of the men’s elite race which was able to pass unobstructed.”
The force added that they were “quickly supported by police officers who arrested the protesters on suspicion of causing a public nuisance”.
The Met said the paint “appeared to be chalk-based” and was not expected to “present a hazard to runners yet to pass this point”.
-
Sports3 years ago‘Storybook stuff’: Inside the night Bryce Harper sent the Phillies to the World Series
-
Sports1 year agoStory injured on diving stop, exits Red Sox game
-
Sports1 year agoGame 1 of WS least-watched in recorded history
-
Sports2 years agoMLB Rank 2023: Ranking baseball’s top 100 players
-
Sports4 years ago
Team Europe easily wins 4th straight Laver Cup
-
Environment2 years agoJapan and South Korea have a lot at stake in a free and open South China Sea
-
Environment2 years agoGame-changing Lectric XPedition launched as affordable electric cargo bike
-
Business3 years agoBank of England’s extraordinary response to government policy is almost unthinkable | Ed Conway