Colonel kicked out of Army for sex assault

A COLONEL was kicked out of the Army yesterday after being branded a “disgrace” to the uniform for sexually assaulting a female Major.

Married Col Martin Toney, 57, who has 36 years’ services and was coming up to taking his pension, stood stunned as the sentence was handed down by a judge. The Sandhurst graduate had pleaded for probation after his story that nothing had happened was rejected by a jury panel of top brass at Catterick Garrison, North Yorkshire. He had been accused by the former Major of giving her an unwanted kiss at a hotel drinks party of mixed ranks after a Norwegian skiing exercise in 2012.

She said she wanted to go and pack. She added: “Out of politeness I went to say goodbye to him. He said ‘Give me a kiss goodbye’. I felt completely flummoxed. It was very much phrased as a command.

“I thought it would be rude not to so I bent over to give him a ‘cheek to cheek’ kiss goodbye. But he turned and met it and kissed my lips.

“He then put his hand on my bottom and rubbed it all over with a fair amount of force. It was not a fleeting touch. This was a thorough feel of my bottom.”

The devastated woman, who cannot be named for legal reasons, came forward after Col Toney was cleared of a previous sex allegation at a court martial earlier this year.

Ordering him to sign on as a sex offender, Judge Edward Legard told him: “Your behaviour that night was inexcusable. It also tarnished the reputation of the officer corps and the uniform section more widely. You wear those pips because your job and duty is to demonstrate the upmost standards of behaviour. For someone of senior rank to behave in this reprehensible way in the presence of other ranks we find to be a disgrace.”

The judge said the request for a kiss was “bizarre and wholly inappropriate”.

Humiliated

He added: “That assault was prolonged. It was forceful. It humiliated her.”

The judge continued: “You took advantage of a female subordinate who had offered you a common courtesy. She felt embarrassed and concerned she would be painted as the villain rather than the victim if she reported it at the time. The offence continues to distress her.”

As well as being fired, Col Toney, from central London, must carry out 120 hours of unpaid work.