A man arrested after he allegedly sexually assaulted a sleeping teenager told police he has sexsomnia, or a psychological disorder that causes him to perform sexual acts while he sleeps.
Andrew Passwaiter, 18, is charged with sexual battery, a felony. Police first came in contact with Passwaiter on March 20, the same day they received the initial report of the assault, Bloomington Police Department Capt. Steve Kellams said.
That day, a 15-year-old girl reported that one night during her spring break, she’d been sleeping over at a friend’s house, where Passwaiter was present. During the night, she woke up with Passwaiter’s hands down her pants.
The same day, Passwaiter showed up at BPD headquarters and asked to speak to officers. Kellams said he did not know how Passwaiter heard about the complaint.
Passwaiter told police he suffers from sexsomnia. That term can describe a wide range of sexual behaviors people compulsively perform while asleep, according to a 2009 report in Psychology Today. Passwaiter said the disorder causes him to perform sexual acts on people sleeping next to him, as the victim was.
However, Passwaiter could offer no support for his diagnosis, Kellams said. He told police he’d been diagnosed by a now-deceased psychologist whose name he would not give.
Later in the week, police interviewed the victim and a witness, who corroborated her statements. Both said Passwaiter was awake when the victim woke.
Police arrested Passwaiter at about 2 p.m. Monday. He continued to deny memory of the event and again cited sexsomnia.
Jack Evans
