Army officer ‘100 per cent’ let down his wife when he ‘chickened out’ of reporting Lieutenant Colonel ‘for groping her bottom on hospital visit to see her injured son’
- Lieutenant Colonel Gordon Edwards, 59, ‘sexually assaulted a colleague’s wife’
- A trial at Bulford Military Court in Wiltshire heard how he ‘squeezed her bottom’
- Soldier’s wife today said her husband ‘let her down by not reporting incident’
An Army officer ‘100 per cent’ let down his wife when he ‘chickened out’ of reporting a high-ranking colleague ‘for groping her bottom’ on a hospital visit to see her son, a court martial heard.
Lieutenant Colonel Gordon Edwards has been accused of ‘trying his luck’ with his friend’s wife, believing he could ‘get away with a quick grope’, before telling her husband: ‘Sorry mate I didn’t mean anything by it’.
The respected officer, 59, was queuing with the woman at a hospital coffee shop when he allegedly ran his hand down her back ‘over her left buttock, and squeezed her right buttock’.
He had been visiting Bristol Children’s Hospital to check on the soldier, who was a friend, his wife and their son after the boy was involved in a serious accident.
Bulford Military Court in Wiltshire today heard how the solider was outraged when his wife told him about the alleged incident, but failed to act and she ended up having to report it herself.
Lieutenant Colonel Gordon Edwards has been accused of ‘trying his luck’ with his friend’s wife, believing he could ‘get away with a quick grope’, Bulford Military Court in Wiltshire heard
Lt Col Edwards and his colleague were close work friends and the incident ‘complicated’ their relationship and caused ‘tension’ and ‘public fallings out’.
The soldier told the court his ‘shocked and angry’ wife demanded he report it with the chain of the command and he reassured her ‘I will deal with it’.
But he failed to report it within the Army, saying his boss was retiring and so he didn’t want to burden him with the allegation.
He also failed to confront Lt Col Edwards in a ‘man to man discussion’ while on deployment to Oman after the incident, despite telling his wife he would do so.
Lt Col Edwards then received a promotion after they returned from Oman and took on a senior position.
When it was suggested to him these were excuses for failing to report him, the soldier told the court: ‘Yeah, I chickened out.’
Months after the alleged sexual assault, the woman resorted to reporting the matter to police herself.
Giving evidence, she said her husband ‘100 per cent let her down’.
Lt Col Edwards had been visiting Bristol Children’s Hospital (pictured) to check on the soldier, who was a friend, his wife and their son after the boy was involved in a serious accident
She added: ‘My husband has let me down as he’s not supported me one bit in trying to get something done to Lt Col Edwards.
‘He should have reported it to his chain of command. I asked him on several occasions.’
After the woman – who can’t be identified for legal reasons – reported the alleged sexual assault, her husband finally brought it up at his retiring boss’s leaving do.
Lt Col Edwards’ defence lawyer claims he only did this because he was worried his own job was at risk. At the time, the officer was being investigated for his behaviour amid a fallout with his colleague.
Bulford Military Court yesterday heard Lt Col Edwards groped the woman while he visited the hospital to check on the soldier, his wife and their son after the boy was involved in a serious accident.
It’s alleged he groped the woman’s bottom as they queued to buy coffee together. The woman told how she ‘was at her most vulnerable’.
Prosecutor William Peters said: ‘This was Lt Col Edwards trying his luck in the hospital thinking he could get away with a quick grope.’
Lt Col Edwards, of the Defence School of Electronic and Mechanical Engineering at MoD Lyneham, Wilts, denies one count of sexual assault.
The trial continues.