A Navy sailor said she was “really drunk” and “inconsistent” when a fellow sailor allegedly sexually assaulted her while they were stationed overseas.
Competent electronic warfare specialist Conrad Lipa-McLean, 28, is facing charges of sexual assault and indecent assault against his comrades at the retrial that began on Tuesday at Auckland’s Devonport naval base.
Prosecutor Major Grace Blanks told the court-martial that the case was about a “failure of camaraderie”, but Lipa-McLean denied the offense.
The offense allegedly took place while Lipa-McLean and the two plaintiffs were stationed at Victoria, in the Canadian province of British Columbia, in August 2020, with HMNZS Te Kaha and HMNZS Te Mana.
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* Navy sailor accused of sexually abusing colleagues while overseas
NZDF / supplied
Conrad Lipa-McLean, 28, pleaded not guilty to both charges. (File photo)
The group of sailors celebrated that they had been given ship leave, and booked a two-bedroom apartment after which they could return to a birthday party where they had a drink.
The first complainant was sleeping on a couch at the apartment when Lipa-McLean allegedly joined her and touched her genitals, the court heard on Tuesday.
The second complainant said on Wednesday that she and Lipa-McLean had happened to be sleeping together in the past, but she was in a relationship with another woman at the time of the party and was not interested in Lipa-McLean.
At the end of the party, she was “getting pretty drunk” after drinking about 10 cans of cider. When she returned to the apartment, she felt herself “turn out” and go to sleep, where she “poured out”.
The woman said she had specifically chosen a single bed to sleep in so that there were “no chances” that something could happen to her while she slept.
David White / Stuff
The court-martial at Devonport naval base is expected to be completed by Thursday. (File photo)
She later woke up when Lipa-McLean joined her in bed, where she placed her hands on her pajama shorts and on her genitals over her underwear.
At this point, the woman was feeling sick, had a sore head and was “inconsistent”.
“He tried to kiss me and put his hands on my shorts while I almost tried not to spit. I told him to get out of bed and he did not listen. “
She claimed Lipa-McLean then took his penis out of his underwear and put her hand on it.
“I finally rolled off the bed on the ground to get away from him.”
NZDF / supplied
Lipa-McLean was posted to HMNZS Te Kaha in Canada when the alleged offense took place. (File photo)
The woman said she intended to sleep on the floor, but Lipa-McLean said she could get the bed back and help her into it, before jumping into bed herself.
She sent messages to her partner back in Auckland that morning about the incident.
“Conrad tried to get into my bed this morning, he always had moments in the night of feelings for me in front of the boys. Quite annoying when I try to be so good. ”
Her partner was “really unhappy” about the situation, she said.
Lipa-McLean’s lawyer, Matthew Hague, claimed the woman would struggle to tell the court-martial that the connection between the couple was consensual as it would upset her partner.
Hague suggested that she just send her partner messages about the incident so she would think Lipa-McLean came across her, and not the other way around.
“It’s hard to keep secrets in the navy, isn’t it? … Especially when these secrets are related to relationships between servants. ”
The woman claimed she sent a message to her partner because she was “worried about how she would take such terrible news”.
On Tuesday, the first complainant recalled how Lipa-McLean allegedly joined her on a couch at a rented apartment after a group of sailors drank at a birthday party.
The woman was trying to sleep when Lipa-McLean started kissing her, she said.
She said she murmured to him and told him “do not” and “stop”, before he used his fist to prick her legs open and touched her genitals.
Asked by prosecutor Robin McCoubrey if she was awake at this point, the woman said she was “in and out of sleep”.
At one point, the woman said, she grabbed Lipa-McLean’s face and said to him, “I do not want you f …”.
The alleged incident ended when he got up and walked into another bedroom.
The court-martial before Judge Brooke Gibson continues.
What is a court of war?
The court-martial oversees cases where a violation of military discipline or other transgressions may have occurred.
Possible sentences include imprisonment and dismissal, imprisonment, demotion, severe reprimand or a fine.
A judge will preside over the court-martial, and a panel of military members will decide whether the accused is guilty or not.
If convicted, the military members and the judge will decide the sentence.
Court war decisions can be appealed.