An Aberdeen man has been jailed for four years for raping a sleeping barmaid after offering to show her his new flat.
The 22-year-old woman dozed off after watching a film during a visit to Craig Byars' new home and fell into a deep sleep after taking anti-depressant medication and working long hours.
The High Court in Edinburgh heard that when she woke up she was alone but immediately realised something was wrong.
Advocate depute Andrew Stewart QC said: "She was feeling really groggy and felt sick at the thought of what had happened. She felt as though she'd had sexual intercourse and became distressed and began to panic."
She went home and told her flatmates what had occurred. They said she was crying non-stop, physically shaking and struggling for breath.
Byars, 34, later claimed to police that he had consensual sex with the woman at his then flat above the Ghillies Lair pub, in Great Southern Road, in Aberdeen.
But when asked if the woman could have been sleeping or dozing when he had sex with her he replied: "Yes she could have been and I've never clicked."
He claimed that during sex the woman at one point said "No" and he stopped having intercourse.
Byars, a chef, formerly of George Street, in Aberdeen, earlier pled guilty to assaulting the woman on December 17 in 2007 and raping her while she was asleep and incapable of giving or withholding consent.
The court heard that before the rape Byars had been drinking in an Aberdeen bar where the woman worked and the pair chatted and he offered to show her his new flat.
The pair then sat on Byars sofa bed to watch TV. When the woman felt tired, Byars pulled out the sofa bed. The woman said she had not intended to stay at the flat but fell asleep.
Lord Brailsford told Byars that he had admitted "a very serious matter" and would have faced a five-year jail sentence, but for his guilty plea.
Byars was also put on the sex offenders' register.
Last updated: 26 October 2009, 14:31
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