photo by: Kim Callahan/Journal-World

Reston Phillips, left, appears with his defense attorney, Joe Huerter, Tuesday, May 13, 2025, in Douglas County District Court.

A Douglas County judge on Thursday sentenced a man to 12 years and three months in prison for rape after a jury last year rejected his claim that the sex act had innocently occurred while he was asleep.

Reston K. Phillips argued at his trial last spring that “sexsomnia” made him do it. Sexsomnia refers to sexual activity that occurs during sleep without the person’s knowledge. But the victim testified — and the jury believed — that Phillips had acted with full knowledge.

As the Journal-World reported, the two, then in their early 20s, had been spending the night at a friend’s house on separate couches during KU’s graduation weekend eight years ago. Phillips said they had been chatting after a night on the town and ended up cuddling on one couch; the next thing he knew, he said, he woke up, his pants were down and he was being accused of rape. The woman, though, said she had zero interest in Phillips, had gone to sleep alone on the couch and had awakened to Phillips raping her from behind. She reported the incident immediately to police.

With the rape allegation looming, Phillips, as he had previously planned, moved to Europe, where he remained for the better part of a decade, avoiding prosecution. In 2023, though, he decided to join his family for a vacation in Mexico, where he was promptly arrested and sent back to the United States.

Though he was convicted eight months ago, Phillips — minus his passport — has been allowed to stay at his mother’s home in Topeka pending his sentencing, which was delayed three times. In that time, he has gotten married, according to court records in Shawnee County.

This is a developing story and will be updated.