British Army Sergeant Spared Jail for Sexual Assaults

A British Army sergeant with over 25 years of service has been spared jail time after admitting to two charges of sexual assault against junior Marines at the Defence Chemical, Biological, Radiological and Nuclear (DCBRN) Centre near Salisbury, Wiltshire. Sergeant Martin Leatherbarrow, 42, was sentenced to an 18-month service community order and ordered to complete 80 hours of unpaid work.

The assaults occurred during a drunken evening on the final night of a training course for the two victims. Leatherbarrow, a permanent staff member at the DCBRN Centre, first subjected a male Marine to unwanted advances. According to prosecutor Lieutenant Colonel Neil Keery, Leatherbarrow stroked the man's thigh towards his genitals after discussing his emotional experiences in Afghanistan. The male Marine reportedly felt "shocked, confused, and vulnerable" and attempted to distance himself.

Later that evening, Leatherbarrow also made sexually inappropriate remarks to a female Marine, telling her, "I promise I am not going to finger you." When she moved to a snooker room, he followed her, grabbed her bottom, and whispered, "God, you're so nice" into her ear. The female Marine was seen crying following the incident.

Both Marines reported the assaults the following day. In a victim impact statement, the male Marine described feeling betrayed and emotionally used. The court heard that Leatherbarrow had been medically discharged from the Army due to post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and had been drinking heavily following the breakdown of his marriage.

Leatherbarrow's defense attorney stated that he had turned to alcohol as a form of "self-medication" while struggling with his mental health and marital issues. He had served in Iraq and Afghanistan and held the Iraq Medal and Operational Service Medal for Afghanistan.

Assistant Judge Advocate General John Atwill condemned Leatherbarrow's actions as "deliberate, consistent and entirely unacceptable," noting that he had ignored clear signs that his advances were unwanted. The judge stated that had Leatherbarrow still been serving, he would have been dismissed. The judge also commented on the assaults occurring in a service mess and suggested that the wider chain of command should reflect on the role of excessive drinking in such incidents.