A Yolo Superior Court judge convicted a former Davis man of felony rape charges this week, rejecting the defense argument that “sexsomnia” made him do it, Yolo County District Attorney Jeff Reisig announced.
Najee Ave, a Sacramento State University student who was living in Davis at the time of the Aug. 2, 2013, crime, waived his right to a jury trial, as did the prosecution. Yolo Superior Court Judge David Reed heard the case.
Prosecutor Martha Holzapfel presented evidence that Ave returned home from a night of drinking and sexually assaulted a 17-year-old high-school student, a friend of Ave’s roommate, who was sleeping on the couch.
The teen was able to escape the assault and contact police. A DNA sample collected from her matched Ave’s genetic profile, according to a news release from the DA’s Office.
Ave testified in his own defense, admitting to getting drunk but saying he did not recall what happened after he got home that evening. His attorney, Deputy Public Defender Dave Muller, put a doctor on the stand who testified that that Ave “was likely suffering from ‘sexsomnia,’ which is a type of sleepwalking state in which the person engages in sex while asleep,” a condition brought on in part by alcohol.
Reed rejected that defense, however, finding Ave guilty of rape of an unconscious person and sexual penetration by a foreign object on a person under age 18. Ave was acquitted of assault with intent to commit a sex crime on a minor.
“In this case a young woman was subjected to a horrible assault because a man decided it was OK to get drunk regardless of the consequences to others,” Holzapfel said.
“The victim showed amazing courage and our victim services advocate and the UCD advocate should be commended for supporting her every step of the way.”
Muller could not be reached for comment about the verdict.
Ave was taken into custody following the verdict and faces up to eight years, eight months in state prison at his Oct. 25 sentencing.