Royal Navy Sailor Cleared Of Raping Sleeping Woman

UPDATE:

Sailor Callum Fennell has been cleared of raping a woman as she slept.

The 25-year-old Able Seaman was acquitted of raping and sexually assaulting the complainant by a jury in 30 minutes.

Original Story Follows

A Royal Navy sailor raped a woman while she slept before texting his mum to tell her what he did, a court heard. 

AB Callum Fennell, 25, who is based in Portsmouth, denies having sex with the woman while she was asleep, saying it was consensual. 

But text messages seen in court on Monday showed that Fennell texted his mum following the incident saying:

"Mum, I had sex with her last night when I shouldn't have". 

The father-of-one also messaged the victim later and said, 'I'm so sorry for what I did last night. I feel like a monster for doing it'', a court was told. 

Plymouth Crown Court heard that the alleged incident took place in April 1, 2016. 

The woman said she awoke to find Fennell having sex with her. She then cried herself to sleep. 

It was also alleged that the woman, who cannot be named for legal reasons, had found Fennell sexually touching her during her sleep previously. Prosecuting, Peter Coombe told the court:

"She describes herself as feeling shocked and shaken by the incident. She says the Friday before this incident, she had woken up in bed to find Mr Fennell with his hands in her trousers."

Mr Coombe read out a text message exchange between Fennell and his mother. 

The exchange started with Fennell saying: "Hey mum, everything OK at home? 

"Mum I feel awful mum, I have no one to talk to until I come home. Mum I had sex with her last night when I shouldn't have." 

The court heard Fennell's mother text him saying: "She could have said no", and he replied: "No, she was asleep and drunk - I f***ed up". 

And during a text message exchange with the woman, Fennell said:

"I'm so sorry for what I did last night. I feel like a monster for doing it. A vile, disgusting monster." 

Mr Coombe told the court that Fennell claims he texted the woman to try and "placate" her. 

But he added that the messages to his mother revealed the woman did not consent. 

"Although his explanation is he [Mr Fennell] was trying to placate her, he seemed to be writing in similar terms to his mother that she had not got it wrong, but he had as well," he said. 

A police interview with the woman was played in court. During the interview, she said:

"All I did was pretty much just cry to sleep. I woke up at 8am the next morning and I still had my pyjama bottoms down. I was just shocked and shaken." 

She then read a message from her phone to Mr Fennell where she said: "At what point did you think it was acceptable to do that to me when I was asleep?" 

Fennell denies one count of rape and four counts of sexual assault. 

The trial - expected to last three days - continues. 

Cover image courtesy of South West News Service (SWNS).

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