By PETER GREEN
A Corporal attached to the Defence Force Reserves has been demoted to Private after he was found guilty during a Court Martial held in Chaguaramas on Thursday.
The Court Martial handed down its sentence in the matter brought by a female private at Defence Force Headquarters.
No other sentence was imposed based on the soldier’s previous clean record.
The soldier was found guilty of two charges. The charges followed from an incident on September 6, 2023, involving a woman who was assigned to the Junior Leaders Club at the Chaguaramas facility.
According to the evidence, the woman reported that the corporal went to the club during her shift and consumed eight beers over a period of about four hours. She alleged that after her shift ended, as she was leaving the building, the corporal grabbed her buttocks in a sexually invasive manner.
The woman said she turned around, removed one of her sneakers and struck the corporal with it. She then returned to the female dormitory, composed herself and subsequently left the camp. A report was made to a regimental police officer the following morning.
In September 2025, the woman’s attorneys, Arden and Karyl Williams, wrote to Chief of Defence Staff, Commodore Don Polo, seeking information on the Defence Force’s handling of the complaint and the action taken against the corporal.
The correspondence raised concerns about the length of time taken to investigate the allegation and address the matter internally.
The lawyers also claimed their client had been transferred to Tobago after making the report, while the corporal was promoted.
They warned that their client would not accept further administrative delays and urged the Defence Force to address the matter before the expiration of the three-year period for bringing military charges. In response, the Defence Force indicated the matter remained under investigation.
The woman’s attorneys wrote again in June to Polo, the Ministry of National Security, and the Commanding Officer of the Defence Force Reserves, seeking an update on the matter.
They also questioned what they described as an unreasonable delay, and warned that civil proceedings could be brought over the alleged assault and what they considered institutional failures in the handling of the complaint.
Following that correspondence, a court martial was convened by Polo. The corporal faced a charge under Section 73 of the Defence Act for ill-treating a subordinate and another under Section 77 for conduct to the prejudice of good order and military discipline.
He appeared before Judge Advocate, Captain Zinar Mark King last month and was formally arraigned on two charges. He pleaded not guilty to both charges at an initial hearing. Both offences carried a maximum penalty of two years’ imprisonment. He was convicted yesterday.
Sunshine Today was informed that despite the verdict and sentence handed down, the female soldier still intends to pursue legal action.
Her attorneys have requested documents relating to the investigation into her complaint and the proceedings before the court martial.
