Judge rules sleep disorder triggered baseball bat attack on prostitute

Calgary man, Gary Yuen, was in a state of automatism triggered by a sleep disorder when he brutally assaulted a $1,000-a-night prostitute, a judge has ruled. As a result, Justice David Wilkins said Yuen is not criminally responsible for his actions, which sent his bloodied victim running naked into the street.

Wilkins ruled Yuen was in a state of parasomnia, in which a person commits involuntary acts while sleeping. “I find you not criminally responsible by reason of a mental disorder,” Wilkins told the professional engineer. Yuen, 48, faced five charges, including aggravated assault and unlawful confinement in connection with the incident in his home.


Photo from here.

His victim, who knew Yuen for 2 1/2 years, had flown to Calgary from Vancouver to provide sexual service over a four-day period for $4,000. She awoke on the fourth day to find Yuen beating her with a baseball bat before he choked her unconscious. When she came to he was having sex with her.

At one point she was able to flee the residence, naked, with Yuen on her heels, before a passing motorist picked her up. Der said the ruling came as a relief to his client who felt everyone assumed he had meant to cause the victim her injuries.