Tony Cameron appears in the Rotorua District Court.
Tony Cameron appears in the Rotorua District Court.
A man who claimed to suffer from a rare disorder causing him to unknowingly have sex while he sleeps has lost an appeal against his conviction and sentence for raping a sleeping 15-year-old girl at a party.
Tony Paraire Cameron, from Rotorua, can now also be named after his appeal was dismissed by the Court of Appeal.
Cameron was found guilty of sexual violation by rape following a jury trial last year in the Rotorua District Court and was sentenced to seven years and eight months’ imprisonment on January 26 this year.
Cameron did not deny he had sex with the teen at the party in 2017 but said he was either too intoxicated to form the required intent or that he committed the offence while he was asleep because of a condition called sexsomnia.
The man has twice been found guilty by different juries of raping the girl but his conviction was overturned on appeal after the first trial. During both trials, he maintained his defence he suffered from sexsominia and was not aware he had raped the girl.
Sexsomnia is a kind of parasomnia. It can cause people to exhibit abnormal or sexual behaviour while in a deep sleep.
The Court of Appeal’s judgement of Justices Mark Cooper, Justice Graham Lang and Justice Matthew Downs, dated May 5, was released to the Rotorua Daily Post this week.
It said Cameron was 37 at the time of the offending and both he and the teen had consumed alcohol.
Towards the end of the party, the teen fell asleep on a couch in the garage where the party was being held. Cameron also went to sleep in the garage.
At some point, the girl woke to find Cameron having sex with her and kissing her neck. She pushed him away.
Tony Cameron used sexsomnia as a defence in two rape trials. Photos / Andrew Warner
The decision outlined Cameron’s version of events that he had no recollection of what happened because he suffered from sexsomnia.
The girl said at trial Cameron said to her the next morning, “you’d better not tell”, or words to that effect.
The decision said a sleep expert called by the defence at trial accepted that if Cameron had said those words, that indicated an awareness of what he had done and effectively ruled out sexsomnia and, for that matter, intoxication.
The decision said the girl’s father confronted Cameron when he learned what had happened and Cameron said he believed he had sexsomnia and for that reason had taken steps not to sleep near family members in the past.
Cameron told the father it was “definitely possible” he had sexual intercourse with the teen girl.
The decision said the defence accused the teen girl of “lying” when she said Cameron made the remark “you’d better not tell”.
Cameron’s lawyer, James Olsen, appealed the conviction on the grounds the victim impact statement disclosed a miscarriage of justice, Judge Tony Snell erred in directing the jury at trial and the judge misdirected the jury relating to an aspect of the girl’s evidence.
Olsen also appealed the sentence saying Judge Phillip Cooper ought to have given a discount for remorse.
The decision said the judges in all instances were correct.
Relating to remorse, the decision agreed with Judge Cooper’s stance that Cameron showed no real acceptance of responsibility. The decision noted Judge Cooper’s comment at sentencing: “You have expressed sorrow for what the complainant is going through. The best expression of remorse is an early plea of guilty. That is far from what has happened in this case.”
Cameron’s interim name suppression lapsed at sentencing, but he appealed the decision not to allow it to continue.
The decision said Cameron invited the Court of Appeal to suppress his name if it allowed his conviction appeal on the grounds of protecting his right to a fair trial, should he stand trial a third time. But given the appeal was not successful, suppression was no longer required, the decision said.
