A Royal Australian Naval officer who grabbed a woman’s nipples, pinched another on the bottom and exposed his penis to another on four occasions has been found guilty of acts of indecency.
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Warrant Officer Ian Duncan Harrison was found guilty in court martial proceedings convened at HMAS Albatross on Thursday afternoon, after eight days of evidence.
He had pleaded not guilty to 11 charges relating to incidents against five women at HMAS Creswell, Jervis Bay, the home of the RAN’s Naval College.
WO Harrison faced 11 charges and four alternative charges, relating to acts of indecency without consent, using insulting and provocative words and prejudicial conduct (an act likely to bring discredit upon the Royal Australian Navy).
He was charged with eight acts of indecency without consent, including two alternative charges of prejudicial conduct; two charges of using insulting and provocative words which also had alternative charges of prejudicial conduct; and one charge of prejudicial conduct.
He pleaded not guilty to the 11 charges and three of the four alternative charges. He did plead guilty to the prejudicial conduct charge relating to pinching a woman on the buttock.
Court papers said the offences were between March 2015 and July 2017 when he had been the Ship’s Warrant Officer at the base.
The panel heard the incidents ranged from grabbing a woman’s nipples, pinching another on the bottom as well as exposing his penis to a woman in various forms of arousal on at least four occasions.
Evidence stated he showed pictures of a penis to a woman and on another occasion showed a woman a video of him having sex with a woman.
A panel of three naval officers overseen by Judge Advocate Brigadier Michael Cowen found the warrant officer guilty late Thursday afternoon.
After eight days of evidence and summations by both the prosecution and defence, the panel of three deliberated for around five hours before finding WO Harrison guilty of all 11 charges.
The alternative charges did not proceed.
The proceedings will continue on Friday morning with the panel to hear further submissions from the prosecution and defence teams before sentencing the warrant officer.