Quote:
Married British colonel, 49, 'raped a drunk junior colleague and then said thanks for the fun' after an alcohol-fuelled UN conference in Uganda, court martial is told
Lieutenant Colonel Benedict Tomkins, 49, attacked the woman in her room, trans Atlantic court martial has heard
The woman – an officer in the US Air Force – accused him of forcing her on to a bed during a 'moment of instant aggression'
Tomkins, who denies rape, told investigators the sex was consensual but 'wasn't rose petal or cupid's arrow' and was 'fairly animal'
A married Army officer raped a drunk junior colleague after a drink-fuelled United Nations conference, a trans-Atlantic court martial has heard.
Lieutenant Colonel Benedict Tomkins, 49, attacked the woman in her room at a hotel in Kampala, Uganda, the hearing in the US was told.
The woman – an officer in the US Air Force – accused him of forcing her on to a bed during a 'moment of instant aggression'.
Tomkins, who denies rape, told investigators the sex was consensual but 'wasn't rose petal or cupid's arrow' and was 'fairly animal'.
He allegedly later sent her an email saying 'thank you for a fun and memorable evening'.
The court martial is the first to be held on both sides of the Atlantic in a move that allows witnesses to give evidence in the US before the court resumes in the UK next week.
The hearing in front of a British judge and with British soldiers on the court martial board – which acts as a jury – took place at Andrews Air Force Base in Maryland.
Judge Advocate General Jeff Blackett said proceedings would be 'governed by the law of England and Wales' and urged American reporters to 'comply with our custom' of keeping alleged sex assault victims anonymous.
The hearing heard that Tomkins, an officer of the Rifles Regiment who has commanded British troops in Afghanistan, met the junior officer at an international conference at a hotel in Kampala.
They had been drinking heavily at a dinner and show at the hotel on January 7 when she invited him to her room to finish a presentation they were working on.
In a video interview played to the court the woman said: 'He came in, shut the door and walked straight over. There was no banter, no discussion. He was very direct as to his intentions. He instantly tried to unzip my dress.'
She recalled 'pushing him away' and said he 'grabbed my wrists or arms and controlled me' and used 'overwhelming force'.
She described it as a 'complete loss of control knowing I was too drunk to do anything'. She passed out and the next memory she had was of them having sex. She said she later woke to find Tomkins typing up the presentation on her laptop before she passed out again. He was gone in the morning.
The woman 'blacked out' any memory of the incident because her boss knew Tomkins and she feared reprisals. She said the British officer sent her emails and asked her if they wanted to 'get together more'. The woman said her 'emotional response was to take all the blame for this' so she responded cordially to his emails, saying to one: 'Thank you as well for a wonderful evening'.
She did not report the alleged rape right away as she was worried about the impact on her career, the court heard, but changed her mind when she began to suffer from anxiety, depression and insomnia.
Tomkins accuses the woman of alleging rape to 'make up for her professional shortcomings'.
The trial continues.
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If she was really raped then she should never have replied back to the guy the way she did as it makes it look consensual, and will be used against her by the defence.
And if the guy is innocent then this woman has just ruined his life as it's obviously not easy for the guy to live with that stigma for the rest of his life.
16-05-2017, 11:31 PM
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British Colonel accused of raping a Junior Colleague and saying "thanks for the fun."
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