A Household Cavalry soldier has been dismissed from the British Army after climbing into bed with a naked female colleague and sexually assaulting her. Trooper Louis Anderson, 24, was convicted of sexual assault following a four-day trial at Tidworth Barracks in Wiltshire.
The court heard that both soldiers were part of the Household Cavalry Mounted Regiment, which has a 360-year history and began accepting women in 2019. Anderson enlisted in October of that year.
The incident occurred after a drunken night out when the female soldier returned to her barracks in a taxi with friends. She woke to find Anderson, who did not have permission to be in her room, sitting on her bed stroking her naked back. When she went to the toilet to be sick, he followed her and stuck his fingers down her throat.
Later, after she returned to bed, Anderson came back, stroked her face, and grinded against her bottom while she lay frozen with fear. A friend who entered the room saw the victim raise her hand for help and pulled her away. Anderson remained in the bed until the following morning.
The victim reported the assault to her commander and later told her boyfriend. Anderson was charged after being quizzed by military police. He denied the charges but was convicted of one count of sexual assault, being cleared of another.
Sentencing Anderson to a two-year suspended sentence and a 24-month community order, Judge Advocate General Darren Reed said he had avoided prison by the narrowest of margins. The judge noted that the victim is being treated for PTSD and depression and has been issued with a service dog. Anderson must complete 40 days of rehabilitation and 150 hours of unpaid work.
