He had entered the home, drunk, looking for keys to a car he intended to steal. Then he went into the bedroom, removed his shoes and climbed into bed with the victim and her partner.
The couple's 17-month-baby was asleep on a mattress at the foot of the bed during the attack.
In jailing Kouth for four years and four months today, Victorian County Court Judge Michael Tinney said it was not hard to imagine the acute sense of vulnerability the victim must have felt.
"Not even her half-asleep resistance deterred you," Judge Tinney said to Kouth. "You persisted in touching her.
"Thank goodness her partner was there."
The victim's partner chased Kouth from the house. He got in their car and sped away, reaching speeds of 160km/h in an 80km/h zone. He clipped a tree, then a pole, and fled on foot but was later caught and arrested.
Judge Tinney said the assault was extraordinary. "Waking up in the middle of the night in one's own bed next to one's own partner with a baby in the room and finding that a complete stranger is in the bed and upon the person ... it's the stuff of nightmares."
Kouth had not initially entered the house with the intent to assault, the judge said, adding that he "can't have been thinking right".
Judge Tinney said he was anxious about the man's youth and the "potentially corrupting influence of an adult prison". But it was important the court sent a "loud and clear message" that it would not tolerate attacks on sleeping or vulnerable women.
"You should be ashamed of yourself," Judge Tinney said.
Kouth must serve at least two years and three months before he is eligible for parole.
