A former pupil who repeatedly violated two women and sexually assaulted a third while they were asleep could face a life sentence.
Connor Yaxley, aged 30, faced allegations of raping one woman three times from December 2017 to 2019, a second woman twice from April 2018 to August 2020, and sexually assaulting a third woman in August 2020.
The victims asserted that they were asleep during the attacks, and the two women who were raped claimed Yaxley told them he had been dreaming when he engaged in sexual acts with them.
He refuted the accusations; however, after a nine-day trial at Norwich Crown Court, a jury found him guilty on all charges yesterday.
Judge Andrew Shaw informed Yaxley, a film studies major at the time of the incidents, that he had been convicted of “extremely serious” sexual crimes.
However, he stated that he would not pass a sentence immediately as a pre-sentence report was necessary to gather more information about Yaxley.
Judge Shaw expressed “the gravest of concerns” regarding Yaxley and indicated he would consider not only a “very lengthy custodial sentence” but potentially a “life sentence”.
Hailing from Great Yarmouth, Norfolk, Yaxley was remanded in custody until his sentencing on November 1.
The first victim relayed in court that Yaxley had used the excuse of dreaming when he had sex with her on multiple occasions.
She recounted an instance where Yaxley claimed he had unintentionally penetrated her while they were both asleep.
The other rape victim mentioned in a recorded police interview that she had woken up from “deep sleep” on two occasions to find Yaxley having sex with her.
Providing testimony from behind a screen, the woman stated that on the second occasion, it occurred after she had gotten into bed with Yaxley and had explicitly told him that she did not want to engage in sexual activity.
She explained that she had a tendency to sleep very deeply, requiring time to wake and comprehend what was happening.
Upon regaining consciousness, she realized that Yaxley had been engaging in sexual acts with her without her consent.
She testified: “I thought he was asleep, so I woke him and asked him why. He said he didn’t recall and must have done it in his dreams, apologizing and claiming he didn’t know what he was doing.”
During cross-examination, she was questioned if she had accepted his explanation at the time regarding the sexual encounters happening while he was asleep. She responded: “At that time, I did accept it.”
On another occasion, she stated she had awakened to find Yaxley fondling her intimately, after which she consented to sexual activity.
She further remarked that she only realized his actions were inappropriate after discussing it with a friend.
Prosecutor Andrew Thompson indicated that Yaxley had told officers in an interview that he would act “without knowing because he was dreaming at the time.”
Yaxley also mentioned to the police that he was prone to experiencing bad dreams and had awakened to discover he was engaging in sexual acts with one of the women.
The court heard that he had additionally assaulted a third woman by touching her inappropriately while she was asleep on a chair at his residence.
Mr. Thompson characterized the alleged incident in August 2020 as “unwanted touching that was undeniably sexual.”
The prosecutor asserted that an individual could only consent to sexual acts by choice, and if they had the freedom and capacity to make that choice.
He elaborated that a sleeping woman—”just like an unconscious woman”—could not give consent to sexual activities occurring while she was asleep.
Mr. Thompson informed the jury that when Yaxley “desires it, he does not accept a refusal.”
He added: “This is an individual who cannot control himself and perceives sleeping women as no barrier to his actions. We assert that is the behavior of a rapist.”
Yaxley was enrolled at the University of Suffolk, based at East Coast College in Great Yarmouth, during the time of the assaults.
In court, he maintained that all sexual relations he had with the women were consensual, claiming that they were “in favor of it.”
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