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• May 9, 2008 9:17 am US/Eastern
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  Florida Jury Accepts Sleepwalking Defense

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Florida Jury Accepts Sleepwalking Defense

ORLANDO, FL (CBS4) ― The judicial system has produced many unique defenses for crimes, like the Twinkie defense. Now, an Orlando jury agreed with a defendant who said he didn't know he fondled a 12-year-old girl because he was sleepwalking.

28-year-old Justin Cox was cleared Thursday of all charges of lewd and lascivious acts in the case. The jurors believed a doctor who evaluated Cox and found he was indeed sleepwalking at the time of the attack.

Cox was accused of the crime after he returned to a friend's house in 2006 after a party. He told the jury he awoke on the couch where the 12-year-old was sleeping. She then told police he fondled her and that she had tried to wake him up.

The doctor said Cox's family had a history of sleepwalking and Cox has sleepwalked since he was a child. Cox says he will seek treatment for his sleepwalking.

(© 2008 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)

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