Sex abuser ‘protected’
NEARLY 20 Townsville army personnel have had administrative action taken against them over sexual harassment and assault cases.
The Townsville Bulletin obtained the number of sexual harassment and assault incidents lodged under a Freedom of Information request.
The number of harassment incidents reported in Townsville for army units between January 2017 and May 2019 was 41, with the RAAF recording four. Of the 41 cases reported by the army, 19 were substantiated with administrative and/or disciplinary action taken. In June nine cases remained open and under investigation.
Seven cases were unsubstantiated or had insufficient evidence.
Six cases resulted in lowlevel victim-centric resolution, where the service worked with the victim about how they wanted the matter to be handled. Defence works with the victim, including whether the matter is investigated by military or civilian authorities.
For that same period, there were 10 incidents of aggravated sexual assault in Townsville. There were five cases of non-aggravated sexual assault, which constitutes touching without penetration.
It’s a story some people in the defence force have been forced to deal with. When a female soldier, who cannot be named for legal reasons, was NO MATTER how far they travel and how many reefs they call home, sea turtles always return to the same beach where they hatched to lay their own eggs, 30 years later.
This “magnetic attraction” and other remarkable facts make Jo Hurford love working alongside them at the Reef HQ Turtle Hospital.
Ms Hurford and Reef HQ are opening their doors this Saturday for a “shell-ebration” of the hospital’s 10th birthday.
“Guests can also visit our latest hospital patient, Arthur – he was found in Arthur Bay on Magnetic called into the office by her superiors over a sexual assault that happened on base, she had no idea the anger was about to be directed towards her.
A female friend had been sleeping in her own room on an army base when a fellow soldier broke into it in the middle of the night and sexually assaulted her.
“I walked into her room and she was crying pretty hard; she demanded the duty officer call the civvie (civilian) police,” the soldier said about her friend.
The soldier responsible for the assault admitted what he had done to the police and was allowed to remain in the army.
“I was called in (by two superiors) who started going off at me … he said the soldier was innocent until proven guilty; they protected him,” she said.
It proved the final straw for the female soldier, who was supporting her friend after being sexually assaulted herself months earlier by a child in Jordan in 2008.
She was studying Island,” Ms Hurford said. “He was malnourished and underweight and so part of his rehabilitation was feeding him a high-protein diet – in his case it was squid to put the weight back on.”
Since the hospital was opened in 2009 by thenenvironment minister Peter Garrett, staff have cared for 249 marine turtles – 91 per cent of those were green sea turtles, the most abundant species in the area.
Ms Hurford said the most common of injuries to the local sea turtle population was flotation syndrome – where blockages, usually plastic, caused a Arabic through the Australian Defence Force School of Languages and was sent to the University of Jordan alongside two male Australian soldiers.
In the apartment complex she was staying in, there were about 50 Kuwaiti soldiers who would frequently proposition her while walking past them to catch a taxi to the university.
“I asked them (the Australians) to walk me to the corner and they said to me ‘ you’re an Australian soldier, you can look after yourself’,” she said. build-up of gas in the animal. The gas then causes the turtle to float near the water’s surface, unable to swim down to feed and increasing their risk of boat strike.
Ms Hurford urged members of the public to report any injured turtles or marine life by calling 1300 ANIMAL.
Reef HQ’S “shell-ebration” of 10 years of the Turtle Hospital will be held this Saturday, with half-price entry all day, prizes, children’s entertainment and giveaways. Activities from 9.30am to 12.30pm. Entry is free for Reef HQ members.