Royal Navy sailor is sacked for sexually assaulting sleeping crew mate
Royal Navy sailor is sacked for sexually assaulting sleeping crew mate after claiming his drink was spiked on drunken night out following visit from Prince Charles
- Able Seaman Sean Bramwell went out in Tokyo following visit by Prince Charles
- Court martial hearing told he took his clothes off and got into a colleague’s bed
- He claimed his drink was spiked but he was today dismissed from the Royal Navy
A Royal Navy sailor who sexually assaulted a junior colleague after a drunken night out in Tokyo hours after the Prince of Wales visited the ship has been dismissed.
Able Seaman Sean Bramwell, 25, had gone for a few drinks with other sailors from his ship following the visit.
But a court martial at Bulford Military Court, Wilts, heard when he got back to his ship, AB Bramwell, from Plymouth, crept into the bed of one of his colleagues, got undressed and began kissing her neck before she woke up.
She kicked out at him and told him to get out of her bed before he stood up and began trashing her room and swearing at her.
The court heard Bramwell, an engineering technician based at HMNB Devonport, then told her to ‘shut up you stupid c***’ and began knocking items off the drawers in her cabin before slumping down naked in a chair.
The hearing heard Able Seaman Sean Bramwell, 25, took his clothes off and got into bed with the junior officer before kissing her neck
The woman, who cannot be named for legal reasons, said via a victim impact statement: ‘After being assaulted in my cabin while I slept, I no longer felt safe aboard a ship.
‘It has ended the career I dreamed of and I lost a significant part of my identity in the process. I felt robbed of my career and the future I planned, which is almost like a bereavement.
‘This has led to a depression which has affected every aspect of my life.
‘I don’t recognise myself and I feel as though a door has been closed on the dreams I held.’
AB Bramwell, who had been drinking in the Shinjuku district of the city, argued a margarita he drank was spiked as he had no memory of the attack.
Giving evidence during the trial Bramwell said: ‘When we moved to Tokyo we had Prince Charles visit and we did the guard for that.
‘Everyone was in quite high morale after that; it’s not every day that happens.’
The engineering technician, based at HMNB Devonport, claimed he must have been drugged before the assault but no drugs were found in his system
After drinking two pints, six double vodka oranges and two gin and tonics he claimed a friend asked him to try a bit of a margarita which tasted a ‘bit off’.
AB Bramwell told the court he essentially blacked out after that and remembered nothing until the next day.
He went to the medical office to complain he had been spiked but the court heard there was no evidence of drugs in his system.
Michael Green, mitigating, said: ‘He has completely abstained from drinking alcohol and is taking steps to try to address his behaviour.
‘It is very clear that he demonstrates… a high level of victim empathy. He expresses real regret for what happened and he is aware of the impact of his actions.’
Bramwell was dismissed from the Royal Navy in a remote sentencing hearing by Judge Advocate Alistair McGrigor, who said: ‘Your behaviour clearly breached the trust that must remain among colleagues on a ship.
‘Such behaviour has a clear impact on unit cohesion.
‘Those who behave as you did can expect to be dismissed.’
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