A British Army Sergeant was today cleared of sexual assault on a young female soldier who accused him of touching her bottom and trying to kiss her after barging into her bedroom at 1am.
Sergeant Charlie Wainwright had stumbled into the woman’s room asking to use a vape charger before allegedly touching her leg and bottom and twice trying to kiss her.
He left the junior soldier, who cannot be named for legal reasons, ‘very uncomfortable’ and has now been found guilty of misconduct for entering junior soldiers’ accommodation without permission.
Since the incident at Baker Barracks, Thorney Island, Hampshire, each flat door has been equipped with ‘barcode locks’ to improve security.
Sgt Wainwright, of the 12th Regiment Royal Artillery, had denied one charge of sexual assault and another of conduct prejudicial to good order at Bulford Military Court, insisting he never touched the woman nor tried to kiss her.
Sergeant Charlie Wainwright was found not guilty of sexual assault, but guilty of conduct prejudicial to good order
Sgt Wainwright allegedly stumbled into a young soldier’s room asking to use a vape charger. He then allegedly touched her leg and bottom before trying to kiss her twice
After a three day trial at Bulford Military Court, Wiltshire, Sgt Wainwright was found not guilty of sexual assault, but guilty of conduct prejudicial to good order.
At his sentencing today, he received a fine of £819 – the equivalent of seven days pay.
Prosecutor Captain Daniel Lawlor had told the trial Sgt Wainwright entered junior ranks’ accommodation that night ‘without invitation’ and caused ‘particular alarm’.
Describing the incident, he said: ‘He caused a disturbance, asking for a vape charger.
‘Eventually the guardroom had to be telephoned and Sgt Wainwright escorted and doors locked.
‘The Crown say things turned a little more sinister that night.
‘He was asking for a vape charger when he came across [the complainant].
‘She was lying down and she will say the Sergeant touched her leg and tried to kiss her and as she put her dressing gown on to cover her nightie – he grabbed her bottom.
‘The Crown say she had given clear visual cues she was not consenting.
‘Sgt Wainwright returned to her room and tried the locked door before going to other rooms.’
Cpt Lawlor described it as an ‘opportunistic sexual assault’ and added: ‘He denies the charges against him, and says he neither touched her leg nor bottom or tried to kiss her and says this does not amount to a service disciplinary offence.’
The court heard the ‘shaken’ and ‘scared’ woman reported the incident to her chain of command the next morning, and this has since led to the introduction of ‘barcode locks’ on the flat doors of the block
Giving evidence, the woman said there had been ‘no contact at all’ between herself and Sgt Wainwright that evening, and that she had been to the gym and had dinner.
‘Around 1am, he woke me,’ she said.
‘He opened my door and turned my main bedroom light on.
‘He walked towards me, asking for a vape charger and then sat down on my bed.
‘He was very drunk – he had stumbled through my door and I could smell the alcohol on his breath.’
She told the court he ‘didn’t leave’ her room, even when the conversation had finished.
‘As I sat up a little bit more, he touched my leg, which was covered by the blanket,’ she continued.
‘As that happened, I shifted up as I felt really, really uncomfortable and then he tried to kiss me. I immediately turned away and told him no.’
The woman claimed that after this, she shifted away from him on the bed and told him she was going for a cigarette, in order to try to get him to leave.
‘As I got up to put my dressing gown on, he touched me on the bum,’ she told the court.
‘I felt like I had to leave my room in order for him to leave.’
It was also claimed Sgt Wainwright tried to kiss the young woman before eventually leaving her room.
The court heard the ‘shaken’ and ‘scared’ woman reported the incident to her chain of command the next morning, and this has since led to the introduction of ‘barcode locks’ on the flat doors of the block.
DailyMail
