The Inner London Crown Court jury took just fifteen minutes of deliberation to find A&R man Matthew Meape, 30, not guilty of the two counts.
During the week-long trial he claimed he slept through the entire incident, when the 28 year-old university graduate complainant said his hands were all over her.
Meape called Guy’s Hospital Consultant Neurologist Neil Munro a European Sleep Research Society accredited Somnologist - a sleep disorder specialist - to give evidence on his behalf.
It concludes a nearly four-year ordeal for Meape, who lost his job with the label as a result of the complaint in October, 2019 and he was then interviewed by police ten months later.
He had the additional stress of awaiting the police and Crown Prosecution decision to charge him and made his first court appearance in August, 2021, waiting nearly another two years for his jury trial.
He told the court: “I didn’t think anything had happened,” blaming ‘sexsomnia’ for his behaviour.
Meape, of Ada Road, Camberwell quit his music business degree course to accept a job with the label, which is part of the Warner Music Group empire and he was responsible for finding and developing new artists.
He ended a night of drinking and drug-taking in bed with two female work colleagues on either side at an address in Usborne Mews, Lambeth on October 10, 2019.
“I have always slept bad. I have never been a good sleeper and had this issue come up before,” he told the court.
Referring to his ex-girlfriend of eight years he explained: “She said that I would touch her in my sleep in varying degrees. I was aware it was possible, but I had no control.”
When asked by prosecutor Louise McCullough if he warned the two women about his sleep disorder Meape replied: “I wish I did say that.”
The distressed complainant fought through tears as she told the jury: “His arm turned very purposefully and he started stroking my skin under my top.
“As soon as he touched my skin I was in complete shock, I don’t think we had even hugged before.
“When he was stroking I realised he was awake and I felt very unsafe. He crossed a line without any regard for me or any boundaries.
“I made any small movements I could to protect my body and the stroking slowly moved up to my chest area,” added the woman, confirming she did not shout out at any point.
“I grabbed myself with both arms so he would not be able to touch my breasts and it felt like it was going on forever, twenty minutes or so.
“He tried to get his fingers under my hands, but I was so tight he just gave up.”
She fled to the bathroom, where she repeatedly texted her sleeping female colleague before returning to her side of the bed because she had nowhere to go and needed to charge her phone.
Meape’s lawyer Rebecca Lee asked her: “Was it really that traumatising since you got back into bed with the person you say had traumatised you?”
The woman said Mead’s behaviour intensified on her return. “I felt it was getting more aggressive and forceful.
“He was stroking his fingers down my face from my head and tried to put his fingers in my mouth three times.
“He was brushing different parts of my body around my bum and between my legs, stroking over my tights under my skirt.
“He was playing with the waistband of my tights and I remember shaking,” the complainant sobbed, adding Meape then pushed with more force between her legs.
“He had his feet overlocking mine and I felt I could not move and he was twisting into me.
“At that point I thought he was going to rape me.
“I could feel Matt grabbing me and thrusting towards me. He was using force, that’s all I can say and when I was lying there I knew he was awake.”
Meape told the jury he drank pints of Guinness after work at Kensington’s Devonshire Arms; bottles of Peroni at a nearby Holiday Inn bar, plus a shot of tequila, also taking cocaine at both locations.
He also took cocaine at the third colleague’s flat, where they agreed to sleepover and travel to work together the next morning.
“We sat on the bed talking, maybe we were up thirty to forty minutes and then just fell asleep at around 3am,” he said.
“I wasn’t very drunk, tipsy maybe and felt sharp due to the cocaine, that’s generally what it does.
“I think I was the first to fall asleep,” explaining his next memory was waking up alone in the bed.
“I didn’t think anything had happened. I just thought they had gone to work and not woken me up.”
Meanwhile, the complainant had reported him to Parlophone bosses.
“I got a call from the President of the company, saying I was suspended due to a complaint about my behaviour that night from another employee.”
His employment came to and end soon after, but he continues to work in the industry with artist management and events.
“I have now changed my lifestyle and am in and out of sobriety. I think your sleep pattern is not as good when you are drinking and since not drinking my sleep is better.”
At the start of the trial the prosecutor Louise McCullough told the jury: “There is an unusual feature of this case, which is that Mr Meape is raising a defence of ‘sexsomnia’ essentially behaving in a sexual manner in a sleep-like state.”
When questioned during a HR investigation at Parlophone Meape said: “I didn’t mean for anything to happen. I didn’t mean to do anything and while I was awake nothing happened.”
In a prepared statement to police Meape said: “I have no recollection of the alleged sexual touching.
“Once I fell asleep I have no recollection. I am mortified by this allegation and feel I might have a sleep issue.
“I may have to undergo and examination for a sleeping disorder.”
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