An Army colonel faces being kicked out of the military after today being found guilty of sexually assaulting a female officer during an all ranks do in a hotel ski chalet in Dombås, Norway.
Following a two-day court martial, Col Martin Toney was unmoved when Top Brass returned the verdict.
Military jurors spent little more than an hour finding the colonel, aged 57, guilty of the sexual assault committed on Major 9 years ago.
Following a two day court martial, Col Martin Toney, aged 57, displayed no emotion after the Top Brass jury returned their verdict
The judge Edward Legard who will be delivering the sentence after consulting with the jury panel said he would consider ‘all possibilities’ to dismiss the Colonel.
There are other options, such as a community orphanage involving unpaid labor. However, this would require a probation report since the Colonel is guilty of a sexual offense.
Hearing at Catterick Garrison in North Yorkshire was postponed to tomorrow morning, when judge and panel will determine whether or not the colonel should go.
The panel may sentence him tomorrow, but he might be released.
They will have to file a probation report if they feel unpaid work would be possible. If this happens, sentence will be delayed until at most January next year.
Col Toney left the court frowning, and was consoled in his sorrow by a woman believed be his wife.
A female officer testified to the court martial that she was horrified when Colonel ordered her to kiss him and rub her backside.
She claimed that the assault took place during the closing evening of the Army Medical Service Nordic Ski Championships in Norway, December 2012.
She has accused her former boss, Colonel Martin Toney, of sexual assault in a function room at the hotel in the ski resort of Dombås, when Col Toney was a lieutenant colonel.
When she was challenged about what had happened to Col Toney (who has served 36 years in the British Army), she replied: “I will forever remember the feeling of his hand upon my arm.”
Catterick garrison, North Yorkshire, hearing adjourned for tomorrow morning (see file photo).
Prosecutor Rupert Gregory stated in closing remarks to the jury that earlier in the day, he had said: “If there ever was an example of the widespread problem of sexual abuse in our society, it’s here now in the courtroom.
“It’s because the defendant was not able to remember grabbing the female police officer’s stomach and then moving to kiss her lips.
“It didn’t mean anything to him.
It is devastating for the victim but it does not matter to her.
She will forever remember his touch on her hand. It’s not something that disappears.
“It’s not the act. The fact that she was humiliated, demeaning in front of a large group of people is what it’s all about.
“No doubt she’s spent many years reflecting on this topic and the impact it had on her.
“She is not going down the path of tweeting and posting on Facebook. The woman filed a complaint with police, and she was present at court to give evidence.
“She is not qualified to serve in the Army. She’s not out to get in trouble. The Army is her love – these are her words.
“This is an important senior officer who can be relied on when you look at her evidence. This isn’t about getting woke.
“It’s just someone saying that they are doing their job. I’m good at my job and shouldn’t be treated like this.”
David Richards, the defense barrister, stated that he was closing his address by stating: “The truth of it is that nobody remembers anything.
“You can’t depend on anyone’s word against your other. However, in the room with junior soldiers, there was no other person saying or doing anything.
While it is possible that people will turn their noses to evidence, this does not prove the case. The evidence must be certain that she touched her bottom, and it was sexual.
The first thing she mentioned (about her kiss) was that the order was given. It was 2012. That’s a long, distant time. It wasn’t 1912.
He said that the incident was ‘a short series of events’. The woman’s story had been “polished” over time, discussed with the #MeToo movement and has been “growing over the years”.
She claimed that the assault took place during the closing evening of the Army Medical Service Nordic Ski Championships in Norway, December 2012. Photo of equipment from the ski slopes.
Court martial learned that the incident took place at a drink party, following an all-ranks Scandinavian feast to close out the ski training camp.
He said, “There are not sufficient evidence to convict the decorated officer of this serious criminal offense.” It’s not about society problems.
Unidentified former major claims that she was “completely sober” during festivities, as alcohol was expensive and few people were drinking.
Col Toney, who was sitting in a conference chair alone, said that she would like to “to politely depart” after about an hour.
“So, out of politeness, I went to bid him goodbye. He responded, “Give me your goodbye kiss.” That left me completely confused.
“We didn’t have the kind of relationship that I would kiss him goodbye.” This was very clearly a command.
“I felt it was rude to not give him one, so I bent down to kiss his cheeks goodbye. He turned around and saw it.
“He put his hands on my bottom, and then rubbed it with quite a bit of force. The touch was not fleeting. It was an intense feeling of my bottom.
The dress was a black-and-white knitted cotton Nordic design, but it was not too thick.
“It seemed like it went on forever,” she said. But it lasted 10-15 seconds. It felt as though it took at most a minute. He thoroughly examined my underbelly.
He felt her hand “moving slowly”. She said, “I was frozen during that.”
“I was so embarrassed. “I just wanted to leave the room quickly.
I felt embarrassed, confused, and degraded. I would normally tell someone to f**k off. But I can’t tell him to f**k off because he is a senior officer.
He had decades of experience in the military. I am not some naïve 18-year-old. Although it wasn’t my first instance of inappropriate sexual contact, this was my second with a high-ranking officer.
Although she had previously experienced “messy high jinks”, this one was much worse. This happened because of the presence of many more junior soldiers, which only made it even worse.
She continued, “My rank did not mean anything because you could treat me like an object.”
Col Toney was a lieutenant colonel when at the ski resort of Dombås, Norway, pictured (file photo)
The woman was still in a relationship, and she didn’t want anybody to suspect her of cheating on her boyfriend.
Col Toney confided in a female friend what had occurred. Col Toney was then interviewed by police, who cautioned her but denied that anything unusual had taken place.
David Richards, the defense barrister, told his victim in cross-examination that a lieutenant colonel couldn’t order him to kiss him.
“It felt like an obligation,” she replied. Because he was older than I, he thought that he could touch me. This is exactly what happened.
Col Toney testified Monday that the Trolltun Hotel incident never took place.
He served as senior officer in the Adventure Training Camp and director of Cross-Country Skiing, which saw 64 people participate over two weeks.
The man said that he was a regular attendee of the event for twelve years, and could not remember any final dinners on a sour note. However, he will recall them being fun occasions.
It didn’t happen, he said. This is something that I wouldn’t do. She is not being truthful. It was not my fault.