A female soldier in the British Army told a court she didn’t report a humiliating sex attack by her boss, in which he allegedly rubbed his groin against her, fearing it would be ‘swept under the carpet’.
Staff Sergeant Lindy Purnell allegedly leant into a minibus in Cyprus and began ‘rubbing’ his groin against a junior soldier’s lower back before ‘laughing’ it off after being called out by another female soldier, Bulford Military Court heard.
Although it was witnessed by ‘shocked’ colleagues, the alleged victim, who was sat in the driver’s seat of the vehicle, told a court martial she was reluctant to report the incident as she ‘didn’t trust’ her ‘male dominated’ chain of command.
It was only when a more senior female officer later caught wind of the incident and called the woman to talk about it that she finally decided to make a complaint.
Staff Sergeant Lindy Purnell (pictured outside Bulford Military Court) allegedly entered a minibus and leant over a female soldier, who he rubbed himself against for ’15 to 20 seconds’
Bulford Military Court (picture) heard how a fellow soldier called SSgt Purnell a ‘weirdo’ after the alleged incident, the sergeant then reportedly got off and laughed
SSgt Purnell, who is 41 and has a wife and two children, denies one count of sexual assault by touching and says he ‘never’ touched the junior soldier ‘inappropriately or sexually’.
The sergeant told the court martial ‘95%’ of his troops troop were females and the alleged actions were not ‘in his nature’.
Bulford Military Court, Wiltshire, heard his regiment were on a shooting range in Cyprus when the incident in the minibus is said to have occurred.
The young female soldier told the court she had intended to drive herself and two female friends in the minibus to the toilet before going for lunch.
She said: ‘I was approached by SSgt Purnell… he came to the driver’s side, opened the door and leaned in and positioned himself over me with one hand on the headrest and one on the dashboard.
‘I didn’t know what was going on… his groin area was on my back and hip area.
‘His face was quite close to mine, and he started rubbing himself against me for around 15 to 20 seconds.
‘It felt like a long time… I was leaned over [a fellow private’s] lap. She said [to him], ‘What are you doing you weirdo?’.
‘SSgt Purnell got off and just laughed. I shut the door and he held onto the vehicle as I was slowly driving off.’
When questioned on why she did not make a complaint until more than a year later when she was back in Britain, the female soldier said: ‘I couldn’t trust any of the chain of command I had in Cyprus.
‘I felt I couldn’t speak to anyone. It takes a lot for me to trust people, and [the chain of command] was very male dominated.
‘I felt if I did say something it would get swept under the carpet.
‘I received a call from my [female] OIC (Officer In Charge), who said individuals mentioned my name because they had heard or seen things. I told her everything.
‘He was my Staff Sergeant.’
A female private in the minibus during the alleged incident, who sat directly behind the alleged victim, told the court martial: ‘We were all quite shocked, and [alleged victim] was quite embarrassed.
‘None of us deemed it funny.’
Meanwhile, the female private who was in the passenger seat of the minibus, told the hearing: ‘[The alleged victim] leaned towards me… SSgt Purnell was making a thrusting motion, and his genital [area] was on her arm.
‘I said something along the lines of, ‘What are you doing you weirdo?’. He was laughing, but [the alleged victim] was not laughing… she didn’t find this funny at all.
‘It looked as though he thought it was a joke, but we didn’t.
‘If that is your chain of command or your boss, someone who is above you… is that appropriate?’
SSgt Purnell, of 1 Armoured Medical Regiment, denies the single charge of sexual assault by touching, and insisted ‘nothing improper or sexual’ happened in the minibus.
SSgt Purnell, who is from St Lucia but left 20 years ago to join the British Army, told the court: ‘I was concerned the minibus was moving and went to find out what was going on.
‘I had to lean into the minibus – but not to the extent where I had to move my entire body into the bus.
‘There is a slight chance I touched her, but in a sexual manner? No. At no stage did I grind myself against her.
‘I have never touched [the alleged victim] in any improper or sexual way.
‘It’s not in my nature. I love my wife dearly and wouldn’t do that. 95 per cent of my troop were females.
‘After I was happy the vehicle was just going to the toilet, I attempted to pull the vehicle back as a joke – we were all stressed on range week.
‘If there was something that happened it would have been reported earlier.’
The trial continues.
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