Youth minister acquitted in 'sexsomnia' child sex case

A Sydney youth minister has been found not guilty of child sex charges after a judge found the man was probably suffering "sexsomnia" at the time of the alleged offending. Aaron Mendis, appointed as a youth minister at the Rivers Edge Church in the suburb of Newington in 2012, faced a NSW District Court trial in August after pleading not guilty to 15 counts of child sex abuse in the 2010s. Prosecutors had alleged the abuse occurred at youth group sleepovers and at a camp, with the "live issue" at trial whether Mendis' actions were due to "sexsomnia whilst he was asleep", according to a judgment on Friday. Mendis, at trial, relied on a report from a psychiatrist to establish that he suffered from "sexsomnia or sleep-related sexual behaviour" as a defence that "his actions were not voluntary" against the complainants. In his judgment, Judge Phillip Mahony acquitted Mendis of all charges on the basis that "it was a reasonable possibility at the time of each alleged offence that the accused was asleep, and suffering from sexsomnia". "Therefore the acts carried out were not either willed or voluntary acts of the accused," Judge Mahony said. "It is a fundamental principle of the criminal law in this state that a person is not guilty of a crime if the act that would constitute it was not done in the exercise of the accused's will to perform it, or done voluntarily," he said. The judge said he accepted expert evidence of sexsomnia including Mendis' family, friends and girlfriend saying he fell asleep quickly, slept deeply, continuously moved his arms and limbs while asleep, and grabbed people when asleep. "I accept such observations were made by multiple friends with whom the accused had countless sleepovers with over many years," the judge said. The judge also pointed to the psychiatrist's conclusion that "the complainants' statements strongly suggested that the accused was asleep when the offences occurred".