Royal Navy engineer, 23, ‘violated’ a male colleague by ‘grinding’ against his bottom and kissing his neck, court martial hears
- A Royal Navy engineer horrified a sailor by hugging him and kissing his neck
- Able Seaman Triss Smythe stood behind the sailor and ‘grind[ed]’ against him
- The 23-year-old denies one count of sexual assault of non-consensual touching
A Royal Navy engineer horrified a fellow sailor by hugging him from behind and kissing his neck ‘passionately’ before pressing up against his bottom, a court martial heard.
Able Seaman Triss Smythe allegedly left a colleague feeling ‘violated and humiliated’ by ‘grinding’ up against him and putting arms over his shoulders before kissing him.
The 23 year old, who is non-binary and uses they/them pronouns, was known to use the phrase ‘I’m here and I’m queer’ around the workplace.
The incident left the victim feeling ‘disturbed’ and suffering from sleepless nights, the court heard.
The court heard both sailors had been wearing ‘paper thin’ summer overalls at the time and the alleged victim, who cannot be named for legal reasons, told the trial the kiss went on ‘for what felt like a lifetime’.
AB Smythe denies one count of sexual assault of non-consensual touching and claims the kiss was simply a ‘peck’.
Able Seaman Triss Smythe allegedly horrified a fellow sailor by hugging him from behind and kissing his neck ‘passionately’
Bulford Military Court, Wiltshire, heard Smythe, an Air Engineering Technician, ‘circled’ around the back of their colleague in a helicopter hanger at Royal Navy Air Station Yeovilton, Somerset.
Prosecutor Rupert Gregory said: ‘[The complainant] was working and whilst he was working in the hanger [AB Smythe] came up and put his arms over his shoulders and crossed them over his chest and pushed up against him from behind.
‘The complainant says he felt [AB Smythe] push his genitals, penis, up against him from behind.
‘And as he did so, he kissed the complainant on his neck in what he described as quite a passionate and sexual manner that lasted a few seconds.
‘The complainant used force to push [AB Smythe] off him and told him “that’s not okay” before he walked away.
‘The fact that he is pushing himself against the complainant makes it sexual. Not all kisses are sexual, lots of friends kiss and it is not sexual – this kiss is different.’
Bulford Military Court (pictured), Wiltshire, heard Smythe, an Air Engineering Technician, ‘circled’ around the back of a colleague in a helicopter hanger at Royal Navy Air Station Yeovilton, Somerset
The court was shown a video of the complainant’s police interview, having reported the incident through his chain of command.
The sailor, who is gay, said: ‘AB Smythe came up to me and sexually assaulted me in front of my colleagues.
‘I wasn’t aware he was approaching. Someone’s arms went over my shoulders and I was trying to identify from the hands but I didn’t.
‘So I glanced over my right shoulder and saw it was AB Smythe.
‘I said “hi mate, how are you?”, and carried on speaking to [a colleague]. I tapped his hands like, “alright sweet cheers”.
‘But then they pressed themselves up against me. Their penis was pressed against my buttocks.
‘A bit of shock came over me. When that happened, I was like a deer in the headlights.’
The sailor, who is gay, said: ‘AB Smythe came up to me and sexually assaulted me in front of my colleagues.’
The court heard that both sailors were in ‘really thin’ summer overalls, which, to be more breathable for the wearer, are ‘literally paper thin’.
The sailor continued: ‘It was like one of those dreams where you’re there and you try and scream and nothing’s coming out.
‘Without saying anything at this point they really slowly caressed me, kissed my neck.
‘He leant in, I don’t understand why, he reached in and just kissed me on the right side of the neck, really perverted and really slow. It felt like he was pouting to make maximum noise and and effect.
‘It felt like it lasted a lifetime. It was a two to three second kiss but it was done in such a passionate, disturbing way – I pushed him [away] with my elbow and thought “what the hell just happened?”.
‘I said “that is not okay” and repeated myself and had to get out of there.
‘I didn’t know what to do, I felt really self-conscious. I was embarrassed, violated, humiliated and confused.
‘I don’t know what I had done to deserve it. To do it on the neck, for me that’s a really sexual and passionate area. It was unwarranted and unprecedented and there is no history between us.’
When cross examined in court, the complainant said he had previously thought of AB Smythe as ‘fearless in standing up for who he is’ and knew of Smthe’s ‘I’m here and I’m queer’ mantra.
The alleged victim told the court he had been anxious to leave his room after the incident, as he didn’t want to see AB Smythe and then had to have a week off work due to sleepless nights.
A female sailor who saw the incident told the court AB Smythe had ‘circled’ around the man before Smythe put their arms around the sailor’s shoulders and then ‘gripped him extremely close – I don’t think you could have got a hand between them’.
She added: ‘It looked like AB Smythe kissed his neck. I saw him do something quite intimate. It wasn’t something I would have done to a colleague. It’s not something you would expect at work.’
‘To me that’s an intimate area, I wouldn’t do that to anyone but my partner.’
AB Smythe denies one count of sexual assault and insists nothing that took place that day was sexual in nature.
The trial continues.
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