Naval cadet raped fellow student who was too drunk to give consent, court martial hears

A ROYAL Navy officer cadet raped a fellow student after a ball at an officer training college when the woman was “too drunk to fight back or give consent”, a court martial panel has been told.

Samuel Mitchell, 27, who is now a sub-lieutenant, is accused of going into the cadet’s room at the Britannia Royal Naval College in Dartmouth, Devon, after a Victory In Europe Day dinner dance in May last year.

Mitchell, who faces two counts of rape in connection with the incident, denies the offences. In a police interview, he said the woman had flirted with him during the evening and “said goodbye with a wink”. David Richards, prosecuting, told the panel of five senior officers at the Portsmouth Naval Base the alleged victim had been carried back to her room by friends after having drunk four glasses of Pimms, a glass of red wine, some champagne and a double gin and tonic. While asleep, the defendant had entered her room, undressed himself and her before straddling her, Mr Richards said.

The complainant had crossed her arms across her chest and said “no sex” to Mitchell, the court heard.

The alleged rape happened after Mr Mitchell went to the complainant’s room “determined to have sex”. Mr Richards said: “He knew she was drunk and that her passivity didn’t reflect a choice she had made, but the fact that she didn’t have the wherewithal to resist him.”

In an interview shown to the panel, the complainant said: “I didn’t know what was going on, I didn’t really comprehend there was someone actually there, I think I must have been still half asleep when he positioned himself on top of me and he undressed me.”

She added: “I crossed my arms, I tried to push him away, I felt I couldn’t stop him.” The hearing continues.