Ex-soldier accused of sexual assaults HE DENIES ATTACKS ON FEMALE AND MALE COLLEAGUES
Director of Military Prosecutions.
The retired soldier is accused of two counts of sexually assaulting a female colleague by placing his hands on her legs without her consent and moving his right hand up her leg, and later making a similar gesture when he placed a hand on the inside of her leg and moved it towards her groin.
The defendant is also charged with assaulting her on two separate occasions over a period when allegedly she was trying to calm him down.
He is also charged with sexually assaulting a male soldier by placing his arms around him which caused the alleged victim to apprehend that the accused was attempting to kiss him as well as assaulting him when he tried to hug the same individual.
The former NCO is also accused of two counts of conduct prejudicial to good order and discipline contrary to Section 168 of the Defence Act 1954.
They relate to accusations that he made an inappropriate gesture simulating oral sex to another member of the Defence Forces as well as being in possession of an empty bottle of alcohol in a prohibited part of the base.
Counsel for the DMP, Commandant Seán Coffey BL, said the accused had been drinking alcohol in the canteen with a friend on the night before they returned to his room where they consumed a bottle of vodka.
Noisy
Cmdt Coffey said a soldier in the next room was woken at some stage in the early hours of the following morning by a noisy disagreement in which the accused’s friend sounded upset.
The trial heard other members of the Defence Forces were called to the room where the defendant was found to be intoxicated.
Cmdt Coffey said the first alleged offence occurred when a female colleague was trying to help him.
The court martial heard the accused allegedly committed another sexual assault as he was being brought back to his room when he had tried to kiss the male solider.
When he was not allowed to re-enter his room, the court heard he cupped his hands around his chin to simulate having oral sex on a penis in a gesture at the soldier who had stopped him.
One witness described how he had been standing outside when he saw the alleged male victim appear “shook up and nervous” when he arrived with the defendant.
The witness said the accused was “all over the place” but also seemed very happy as he was “laughing, joking and mumbling.”
The court martial is due to last over a week.