23 Feb 2009

Army officer accused of indecent assault

6:14 pm on 23 February 2009

An army officer is facing a court martial over three charges, including a charge of indecent assault on a female officer.

The five-person court martial is hearing the case at Trentham Military Camp near Wellington.

The officer, who has name suppression, has pleaded not guilty to the charges, including a civil charge of indecent assault.

The charges relate to an incident at an army training course in 2007.

The prosecution opened its case on Monday and the first witness was the female officer at the centre of the allegations.

She told the court the accused came into her quarters, uninvited, at the end of a social function.

The court was told he then grabbed her and tried to kiss her, before later exposing himself to her.

The hearing is set down for three days.