Assistant Judge Advocate General Edward Legard told 25-year-old Pte Samuel Hodgetts that he had shown “unconscionable” behaviour when he assaulted his female victim following the social occasion.
A trial at Catterick’s Military Court Centre heard how Hodgetts – then serving with 4th Regiment, Royal Logistic Corps – had been drinking with the victim.
Along with two other drunk individuals, both had fallen asleep on the same bed before the offender went on to commit four sexual assaults.
“At no point had she consented to being sexually touched,” said the judge. “She was quite incapable of giving free and informed consent – in part by virtue of her intoxicated and drowsy state.”
The soldier denied all charges against him, claiming the victim had given a dishonest account and the pair had just held hands.
But the serviceman was later found guilty on all counts.
The judge said Hodgetts had taken advantage of the woman, someone who “had every right to feel safe and secure in the presence and company of somebody, a friend, she ought to have been able to trust implicitly”.
He handed the soldier a 66-month jail term and dismissed him from the ranks.
The judge added: “All people, whatever their sex and whether or not they are in a relationship, must be able to socialise and share accommodation in the safe and secure knowledge they will not be sexually assaulted but instead be afforded the respect they properly deserve.”
The victim had suffered significantly in her life after the attack, he said, with a “deterioration in her mental health” as well as anxiety, depresson and issues with personal relationships.
While noting that Hodgetts had a previously spotless record, good relationships with his family and a strong work ethic, he had caused lasting harm.
The judge told him he would serve up to two-thirds of his term behind bars, with the remainder out on licence.
