A naval officer has been found guilty of spanking a junior female sailor and other acts of abuse.
A court-martial panel on Tuesday found Lieutenant Commander John Alan Jones guilty of seven acts of indecency, including four occasions when he spanked the female sailor who served on the same ship.
The other incidents related to Jones telling the sailor to take off her pants and then pulling down her underwear, making her lift up her top, and touching her bottom.
These happened in his cabin on the ship and at a private residence in Western Australia.
A defence spokesman said the Navy had vigorously pursued the matter through the courts.
The junior sailor was emotional when giving evidence earlier in December, saying she had been scared of Jones and still had nightmares about the abuse.
The court martial heard a secret recording she made of a conversation with Jones about the spanking.
In it, he told her he had smacked her for her own good and to teach her obedience.
The panel cleared Jones of two other charges of indecent acts owing to insufficient evidence.
Lesser charges relating to the same incidents were withdrawn.
The court-martial panel will hear sentencing submissions on Tuesday afternoon.
The prosecution is expected to ask for some kind of custodial sentence, with each indecent act charge attracting a jail term of up to five years.
Jones can appeal the court martial panel's decision and the entire court process will also be automatically reviewed.
Share
