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'Sleepwalker' Guilty Of Aggravated Sexual Battery

Posted: 5:11 pm EDT May 22, 2007Updated: 6:11 pm EDT May 24, 2007

A jury found a Paulding County man who claimed he was sleepwalking guilty of aggravated sexual battery Thursday.

Scott Axleburg faces a minimum sentence of 10 years without parole and a maximum sentence of 20 years. Sentencing will take place June 8.

Axleburg claimed he was walking in his sleep when he fondled a 16-year-old babysitter.

The victim described a night three years ago when she was babysitting overnight so the defendant and his family could get an early start to his son’s baseball tournament and she would be there with his toddlers.

As she slept on the couch, she said Axelburg woke her up with his hand in her pants. She said that she jumped.

"He got up off his knees and he buttoned both buttons on his shorts and zipped up his pants and walked into his bedroom," said the girl.

When a detective questioned Axelburg on videotape, he denied anything happened at first.

"I didn’t do that. I didn’t do anything," said Axelburg.

He also said he had sleepwalked on occasion. His attorney talked about a time at a motel.

"Next thing you know, he’s out in the parking lot in his underwear," said Axelburg’s attorney Guy Davis.

Eventually, Axelburg said he woke up and found himself touching the girl.

A doctor who specializes in sleep disorders said sleepwalking is a parasomnia, as are sleep-talking and sleep-eating. The defense claimed you cannot be guilty of committing a crime while asleep.

"A crime in this state requires two things -- an act and intention," said Davis.

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