MN- Worthington man accused of criminal sexual conduct says he was sleepwalking

8-8-2009 Minnesota:

A man charged Thursday with fifth-degree criminal sexual conduct and indecent exposure told authorities he was sleepwalking when he went into a child's room naked and climbed into his bed.

Gabita Galato Weyo, 21, of Worthington, told a detective with the Worthington Police Department he had a nightmare about being chased and walked in his sleep, according to the criminal complaint filed in Nobles County District Court.

Authorities were contacted shortly before 5:30 a.m. July 24 by a man whose 13-year-old son had stayed at his ex-wife's house overnight.

The child said he was staying at his mother's house when her boyfriend "Desta" entered his room in the early morning hours. The boy said Desta was naked when he laid down in the child's bed and tried to kiss him.

The child got up, went to another room and got in a different bed, but he said Desta followed him and again climbed into his bed. The boy went back to his own room, and Desta followed again, so he got up and tried unsuccessfully to call his mother. He called his father, then waited outside until his father picked him up.

Authorities went to the house Weyo shared with the boy's mother, but got no answer when they knocked. The complaint states the mother arrived, and after hearing what had happened, told the officers her boyfriend's real name. She said they had been dating for one-and-a-half years and living together for two months.

The woman told Weyo to open the door, which he did. Both of them accompanied officers to the Prairie Justice Center.

The woman gave a statement to officers, telling them she and Weyo had gone out for a drink around 1 a.m., come home and had another drink, then gone to bed. She did not believe he was drunk.

She said she heard Weyo get up around 3:30 a.m. and go downstairs, where the bathroom is located. A short time later he returned to their room and told her he had gone into her son's room.

Weyo's statement confirmed what the woman had said.

He allegedly told officers when he got up to use the bathroom he stopped in the child's room and sat down, then got up and went to the bathroom.

He fell as he was heading toward the bathroom because the house was dark, and falling woke him up.

He reported another recent sleepwalking episode, when he had gotten up in the middle of the night and urinated on some clothing.

The boy's mother confirmed that incident and told authorities of another, when she had found Weyo walking around on the main floor in the middle of the night. When she asked him what he was doing, he told her, "I'm sleeping."

The detective asked the child if Weyo had stumbled at all in his room, and the child replied he had not. He stated he wasn't scared, but added that the incident "freaked him out."

Weyo's next court appearance is Sept. 1 at the Prairie Justice Center. ..Source.. by Justine Wettschreck, Worthington Daily Globe