A Sydney man who sneaked into a couple's home while they were sleeping and sexually assaulted the woman acted "impulsively without much thought", a court has heard.
Joseph Taouk, 35, sat in the dock during his sentence hearing at the Downing Centre District on Friday as his lawyer detailed years of drug use, mental illness, relationship difficulties and ultimately a "repulsive" offence on February 9 last year.
Taouk earlier pleaded guilty to sneaking into the Potts Point house, walking up the stairs and sexually assaulting the woman who lay sleeping beside her partner.
Police charged him with entering a dwelling with the intent to commit a serious indictable offence and aggravated sexual assault.
On Friday, Taouk's defence submitted it was an unusual case because he did not plan it.
"It seems to have been committed impulsively without much thought at all," Ramesh Rajalingam said.
"When he is asked by her partner to leave, he leaves the house, which is truly a strange case."
Taouk's partner Rebecca Coon gave evidence that she was at her "wit's end" in the weeks leading up to the assault because he was using ice and cannabis and suffering from paranoia and delusions about things such as "number plates and certain TV shows".
"He was incredibly unwell," Ms Coon told the court.
Taouk has since expressed shock, disgust and embarrassment at his behaviour, she said.
"He said he was just disgusted by what he had done and that the woman involved must have been very freaked out," she said.
Mr Rajalingam submitted that Taouk's early guilty plea, sense of remorse and time spent in jail since March last year should be taken into account.
Judge Paul Conlon told the court he needed a few weeks to decide how to sentence Taouk because his history of drug use, mental illness and the fact that he immediately left the couple's home when the woman's partner asked him to, made it "quite a difficult matter".
Taouk will be sentenced on September 5.
