Sergeant to face court martial after sexual assault

AN army sergeant was yesterday remanded for court martial in connection with an alleged sexual assault on a female reservist in her bed.

The Defence Force member is charged with sexual assault at Finner Camp, outside Ballyshannon, Donegal. The incident is alleged to have occurred on September 15 last. The investigation was complete in December but has only come for a military hearing now, due to the numbers of witnesses involved.

The alleged assault was fully investigated by his commanding officer from the 28th battalion. The commanding officer of the Donegal sergeant’s unit took up the case after an initial complaint was investigated by the military police.

Statements were prepared by witnesses who gathered for a military hearing yesterday. The case was sent forward for a court martial hearing at which legal representatives will appear for both the sergeant and the Defence Forces.

A number of other members of the Defence Forces of different ranks are understood to be facing minor charges in connection with the circumstances surrounding the incident in Donegal last year.

Due to the nature of the evidence it was passed on for a court martial hearing which is expected to be heard in over a month’s time. A number of senior and junior officers will sit on the court martial board while a member of the force acting as judge advocate will also attend the hearing.