A Connecticut man has reportedly confessed to having sex with his dead girlfriend, claiming he thought it would help her regain consciousness.

The Hartford Courant reports that Aaron Graser, 39, pleaded guilty to fourth-degree sexual assault along with violation of probation, after admitting that he had sex with his girlfriend after finding her unresponsive and surrounded by needles. Graser reportedly said that he believed the sex might wake her up — but not because she enjoyed it.

According to an arrest warrant obtained by the newspaper, Graser found his girlfriend unconscious and slumped over, the victim of an apparent heroin overdose. Before he called 911, he attempted to revive her after reportedly noticing some signs of life.

“Aaron stated that he laid the victim down the bed and he rubbed her sternum,” the warrants reportedly says.

“Aaron stated he listened to see if the victim was breathing and he heard gurgling. Aaron stated he knew the victim hated having sex with him so he figured that the victim might wake up if he had sex with her.”

Graser also reportedly admitted to tying her wrists and ankles to the bed before he had sex with her, “because it was a fetish of his.”

The suspect had been arrested months before his girlfriend’s death after he allegedly choked her, and was on probation at the time of the incident.

According to the newspaper, an autopsy report found that the woman was dead before Graser had sex with her, and paramedics who responded to the 911 call reportedly said that woman had been dead for hours.

Graser was sentenced to one year in prison, and will not be required to register as a sex offender.

[Feature image: Connecticut Department of Correction/Aaron Graser]