Many four year olds do, indeed, sleep with a parent. I'm stating a fact--not defending the practice. Our adult kids (even the single parents) have all slept with their children well through toddlerhood. I happen to know that, in Oregon, family court judges prefer that children over 6 cease sleeping with their parents. Each situation is different.
And I pray to God that I would never harm a child. But I can't be certain. No, I've never acted out sexually but I know that people with Alzheimer's and certain seizure disorders can become very sexualized. I know that I sure as heck didn't used to slam my head into walls, spit, and eat leaves. It's very disturbing.
http://www.healthcentral.com/alzheimers/c/57548/31000/inappropriate
"Most commonly [ETA: in Alzheimer's patients], inappropriate sexual advances include lewd remarks, touching, or public masturbation. Sometimes inappropriate sexual behavior combines with aggression and this is obviously a much more serious problem that can be very difficult to manage..."
And in Sleep Sex--
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sleep_sex
Not an easy disorder to read about, that's for sure. Note, the connection with epilepsy. IMO, most likely it's the temporal lobe that is affected.
"If rape has been committed, it can be psychologically and physically devastating to the individual. Some individuals have even claimed sleep sex as a defense during rape trials. Other consequences of sleep sex include feelings of depression, embarrassment and shame after the event."
Believe me, I can relate to this.
My point is that a damaged brain does things that we can't control. I agree with everyone that this is horrid and disgusting and changes for this child must be made immediately. None of us knows the full story as the court does.
Ask any EMT which patient they least like getting a call about. They almost always say someone in an altered state due to natural causes. They despise being forced to protect themselves from a perfect gentleman or sweet lady who's throwing punches in a diabetic seizure or trying to talk someone with dementia into getting out of the middle of the street or out of the bushes. They can recognize drunkenness from an altered state and they really don't like controlling or frightening people simply because they have a brain disorder.
Think for a moment if this is really any different than me having a seizure while holding an infant. I would throw or drop that infant with no thought that I was hurting a little one. I would have tremendous remorse and NEVER place myself in that position again.
The one place where I can't forgive this man is in that he knew he had this disorder and still placed the child in danger. My guess is, that just like I did, he hoped against hope that it wouldn't happen--that he would never harm his child. If he does this again, he needs to be in a supervised setting. If I go around and pick up babies and drop them, I need to be locked up.