B.C. man ordered to pay $210K in rape case where judge rejected ‘sexsomnia’ as the reason

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Several witnesses called by the defence at trial recounted stories of a fully-nude Antonius sleepwalking and sleep eating. One witness, a former sexual partner, testified that he appeared to initiate sex while asleep, only to roll over and resume sleeping immediately after.

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Three medical experts also diagnosed him with parasomnia, two of whom cast a degree of doubt as to whether it was an incident of parasomnia and a third who categorically said it wasn’t.

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Cullen accepted that “those experiencing parasomnia episodes can perform relatively complex tasks” but said Antonius’s actions with T.K. “involve consciousness of the context in which it was occurring.”

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“The accused had to undress himself, undress her by removing her boxer shorts and her panties, and initiate sexual intercourse with her without awakening her,” the judge wrote, noting it “implies a cautious approach and a conscious purpose.”

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Before he was convicted, Antonius was removed as President of Vancouver-based Boreal Metals Corp., a mineral exploration company focused on historical mining project areas in Sweden and Norway, after the allegations against him and the sexsomnia defence came to light in November 2019. The company said its board of directors “had not been made aware of the nature of charges made against Mr. Antonius or his defence to them.”

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In an affidavit for her sexual battery civil suit filed in November 2022, T.K. said she was worried that Antonius impregnated her or “given her the herpes virus, with which she was diagnosed four years later,” Justice Warren B. Milman wrote.

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She described herself as a “confident” and “outgoing person” who liked spending time with friends and meeting new people before the assault. 

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“Now, after 11 years, she describes herself as a ‘shadow of her former self,’” as she struggles to maintain relationships, forge new ones, and trust people, men in particular.

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“Her world has become much smaller because she is reluctant to venture from her safe haven at home. Her view is that the defendant robbed her of her safety and sense of self.”

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Many of her struggles are also documented in an affidavit filed by her mother, who said her daughter “has not been able to move forward with her life.”

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Antonius failed to file any response to the court, resulting in a default judgment against him in October 2024.

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T.K. had been seeking $250,000 in non-pecuniary damages (pain and suffering), but was awarded $200,000, which includes a $50,000 in aggravating component due to the betrayal of trust and the “profound impact… on the course” of her life.

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Milman denied her request for $50,000 in punitive damages, finding that the trial judge imposed an “adequate” sentence.

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She will also receive $7,640.62 for counselling already obtained and another $3,042 for future sessions, for a total award of $210,682.62, plus the cost of her legal fees.

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