Benjamin Bruce: Alleged serial Tinder rapist claims he has no recollection of alleged rape due to ‘sexsomnia’

An accused Perth rapist claims he has no recollection of violently assaulting several women because he has “sexsomnia” — a sleep disorder which causes involuntary sexual behaviour. Benjamin Nathan Bruce met some of his alleged victims on dating app Tinder, before allegedly punching, kicking or choking them until they lost consciousness. The 26-year-old is standing trial in the WA District Court on 29 charges, including multiple counts of sexually penetrating five women without consent over several years. On Wednesday, Prosecutor Adam Ebell told the court Mr Bruce had engaged in a nine-month relationship with a woman after meeting her at a car meet in 2020. The couple would argue “constantly” and the woman had said she didn’t enjoy having sex with Mr Bruce because it was allegedly “painful” and “always rough and violent”. The woman said she was allegedly left with horrific injuries. Mr Bruce allegedly “took issue” with the fact that she was on birth control, and asked her to remove her contraceptive implant because “he wanted to get her pregnant”. He also allegedly failed to respect her requests to practice safe sex. About two weeks into their relationship, Mr Ebell said the pair had a sleepover at Mr Bruce’s home, during which the victim alleges that she woke to Mr Bruce allegedly penetrating her without consent. “When she realised what was happening she froze, she did not move, she did not say anything,” he said. After the alleged incident, the woman confronted Mr Bruce, grabbed him by the shoulder and said: “What the f... was that ... you just raped me.” Mr Bruce allegedly became angry and ordered the woman to go back to sleep, before telling her he had “sexsomnia” and had no recollection of the incident. “He admitted he hadn’t been diagnosed (with sexsomnia), but said the condition existed,” Mr Ebell said. “He told her it happened with previous partners and they were cool with it, so if he does it again she should let him do it.” One night, around Valentine’s Day, Mr Bruce allegedly became angry because the woman took a long time to open the front door. The pair got into an argument, during which he allegedly “verbally abused” her to the point she “felt broken”. “Completely overwhelmed by this, as some sort of coping mechanism, she starts to punch her own head,” Mr Ebell said. “This angers the accused even more ... he grabs her arms and holds them down and continues to yell and scream. “His knee presses down onto her throat whilst he is continuing to yell and scream at her ... (she is) in pain but she can no longer breathe (and she is) afraid she will lose consciousness.” Mr Ebell also told the court about a woman Mr Bruce met on Tinder in 2023. The pair spoke on Snapchat, before Mr Bruce offered to take the woman for a drive, during which he allegedly told her: “I hate Australian girls, they’re spoiled and brats.” The couple went back to Mr Bruce’s house and had consensual sex before going to sleep. But the following morning, the woman woke to discover Mr Bruce watching her. “He tries to have sex with her and she says ‘no’ ... she just gives in and tells him to put a condom on, he says ‘no,’” Mr Ebell said. “(The woman) just gives in and he has sex with her. Afterwards, Mr Bruce is accused of “jumping” on top of the woman and raping her. “She yells at him ... he laughs at her and tells her it’s her fault because of how she had laid down,” Mr Ebell said. Following the alleged incident, the complainant went to a Sexual Assault Resource Centre where she reported the incidents. Mr Ebell described Mr Bruce as “controlling” and said his romantic relationships were “volatile”. “Offences like these often happen behind closed doors ... these are intimate and personal offences, many of which were committed late at night, beyond the eyes of others,” he said. But defence counsel Daniel Johnson said his client “adamantly denied” the allegations, adding trial would question the reliability and credibility of the complainants. “It is not in dispute he had sexual relationships with (the women) ... it is not in dispute that during those relationships, there definitely were heated altercations which went back and forth,” he said on Wednesday. “What is in dispute, and what will be a key issue, is that he never forced himself in a sexual manner onto any of the complainants. “He never committed the violent physical assaults as now alleged by the respective complainants.” The trial continues. Sexual Assault Resource Centre 1800 199 888