Rapist soldier who claimed he had attacked women in his sleep is finally jailed after avoiding justice for five years

A rapist soldier avoided justice for five years by claiming he suffered from a condition which meant he attacked women in his sleep.

Joseph Short managed to get a rape case dropped against him in 2011 after a leading sleep disorder expert backed his claim that he had so-called 'sexsomnia'.

The platoon sergeant claimed the condition left him with no memory of attacking his victims, and army officials failed to dismiss him despite their knowledge of the allegations.

The 30-year-old was finally jailed at Birmingham Crown Court, receiving 15 years imprisonment for raping a woman in Hoddesdon, Herts, in 2014 and for sexually assaulting another woman in Shrewsbury while on bail a year later.

Once again, the soldier tried to convince prosecutors that his condition had caused him to attack the women, as he had successfully done when accused of a rape in Scotland in March, 2011.

However his case fell apart, the Sunday Mirror reported, after the expert who had helped clear his name in 2011 said Short had ignored the advice given to him on how to not attack women in the future.

After his defence was ripped apart, Strong tried to plead insanity, but it was rejected by expert witnesses.

Speaking after Strong was jailed, one of his victims told the Sunday Mirror: 'This is a victory for justice and for all the women whose lives he ruined while remaining free to rape again and again.

'I think he was so arrogant he thought he was going to get away with it again. But by the end, it was clear to everyone he wasn't some guy with a sleep disorder.

'He was just a monster who liked raping women. He is in the right place now. He isn't a hero, he's a dangerous man.'

Original report here


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