Sunday, May 14, 2017

ADF soldier guilty of sexually assaulting 4 officers continues to serve – only fined $700

A Non-Commissioned officer in the Australian Defence Force was found guilty of sexually assaulting four of their superior officers earlier this year.

As punishment, he was fined only $700 and dropped just one rank.

A clipping from the Army News reveals the light punishment for the offender, which saw $2800 of their $3500 fine suspended, leaving the total owing at $700.

It is in stark contrast to two other rulings for the month of March, one which saw an Officer dismissed for going AWOL for eight days, and another which saw an Officer who embezzled $27,000 dismissed, jailed for 180 days and fined almost the full amount they stole.

The court ruling for the NCO explains: ‘The member was accused of assaulting four superior officers, by touching three of the officers on an intimate place and by an intimate act on the other superior officer.’The punishment appears much less than that given to an Officer who was AWOL for eight days and an Officer who embezzled $27,000 - both who were dismissed from the Defence Force 

The member was also accused of an act of indecency on one of the superior officers.

‘The member pleaded guilty to the charges and was found guilty of the charges.

‘The member was reduced in rank by one rank and fined $3500 (with $2800 suspended and the balance to be paid in one lump sum).’

In 2015, it was revealed 22 members of the Australian Defence Force accused of rape were still serving or employed within Defence.

Of this number, revealed in published answers to a Senate Estimates hearing, the Department of Defence revealed 11 members were serving in the Navy, nine were in the Army, one in the Air Force and one serving in the Australian Public Service.

The highest rank of a permanent Defence Force member accused of rape is a Colonel equivalent, and their rape allegation is more than 20 years old, though the Department claim it only came to light in 2015.

Allegations of sexual abuse within the Defence Force stretch back decades and are constantly emerging.

In 2013, then-Army Chief David Morrison (pictured) issued a warning to Defence Force personnel through a YouTube video, where he said: 'Those who think it is okay to behave in a way that demeans or exploits their colleagues have no place in this Army'In 2011, Australian Defence Force Academy Cadet Daniel McDonald, then 21, filmed himself having sex with a female cadet without her knowledge.

The video was broadcast to a number of other colleagues, and McDonald was sentenced to two year-long good behaviour bonds by the ACT Supreme Court.

During his trial, McDonald’s bail conditions were loosened to allow him to continue studying at ADFA, provided he did not come within five metres of the woman involved.

He was not sacked until November 2013, when he was found guilty by a court, though he had been suspended since June 28 that year.

In 2013, the Jedi Council – which saw members of the ADF circulate videos and images of women they had slept with – came to light.

Accompanying the clips were often derogatory comments which included personal details about the women.

Ringleader Hastings Fredrickson, who dubbed himself the Wolf of Woolloomooloo, was sentenced to a 15-month sentence for his actions, but spent no time behind bars.

In response, then-Chief of Army David Morrison released a viral YouTube Video addressing the allegations.

In the sternly worded clip he said: ‘Those who think it is okay to behave in a way that demeans or exploits their colleagues have no place in this Army.

He noted female soldiers were ‘vital to us maintaining our capability now and into the future’.

‘If that does not suit you, then get out,’ he said in the address to Defence personnel.

‘You may find another employer where your attitude and behaviour is acceptable but I doubt it.’

Daily Mail Australia has contacted the Department of Defence for comment.

Source: Army officer guilty of sexual assault fined just $700 | Daily Mail Online


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