'Sleepwalking' RAF serviceman cleared of rape » Communities » 24dash.com

An RAF serviceman who claimed he was sleepwalking when he had sex with a 15-year-old girl was cleared of rape today.

The teenager woke to find Kenneth Ecott naked on top of her and started screaming in the early hours of November 19 last year.

The Senior Aircraftman said he had gone to sleep following a party and woke to find himself naked, outside and with no memory of intercourse with the girl.

He had been celebrating a birthday with friends at the Royal British Legion club in Poole, Dorset.

The group carried on the party at a friend's house where Mr Ecott shared a bottle of vodka, Bournemouth Crown Court heard.

He then went to sleep with others, including the 15-year-old girl, who cannot be named for legal reasons, on inflatable mattresses in the dining room.

The next thing he remembered was waking up outside, naked, and he went back into the house where he allegedly admitted having sex with her to other party-goers.

It was also claimed that Mr Ecott apologised to the girl's family for having sex with her saying he did not mean to.

He was arrested at his barracks in RAF Brize Norton, Oxfordshire, later that day and told Poole police officers he had been sleepwalking.

He never disputed that penetration took place but said he was not aware of his actions as he had been in a state of automatism.

He said, during interview: "I laid down to go to sleep. The next thing I knew I was stood outside completely naked in the middle of the street wondering what the hell I was doing there.

"I walked round to the front door. I heard her crying, then it all blew up.

"Everyone was asking: 'What have you done?' and I said: 'I don't know. I can't believe this.'

"I just went off on one. I was in shock. I wasn't really sure what was going on. I didn't know what to do. I just walked out."

Mr Ecott denied one count of rape and the jury of seven men and five women today took two hours to clear him of the charge.

He held back his tears as the jury announced their not guilty verdict.

Mr Ecott joined the RAF in June 2004 and worked as a telecommunications operator maintainer, responsible for running IT services in Airforce and Army bases.

He served for four months in Iraq and then went to Afghanistan for three months to run the IT services at a base in Kandahar returning on November 16, days before the party.

He told the jury jetlag had stopped him from sleeping properly upon returning from Afghanistan.

Copyright Press Association 2007

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