British Army Gurkha, 26, tried to drag cleaner into a cubicle for sex, military court hears
British Army Gurkha, 26, hid in toilet for cleaner then tried to drag her into cubicle for sex after she twice rejected his offer of a kiss, court martial hears
By Charlotte Mclaughlin For Mailonline
Published:|Updated:
47sharesA British Army Gurkha hid in a toilet for a cleaner then tried to drag her into a cubicle for sex after she twice rejected his offer of a kiss, a court martial hears.
Rifleman Tarahang Rai, 26, denies sexual assaulting the cleaner at the base after it was alleged he begged the woman for a kiss several times while she was doing her job.
He allegedly made the unwanted advances on two occasions before she went to try to clean the toilets for a third time, thinking he had left when he was actually hiding in the cubicle.
She told the court Rfn Rai did not let go of her hands until she threatened to shout for help.
A Wiltshire military court was also told he asked for sex and tried to drag her into the cubicle.
Rfn Rai denies sexually assaulting the cleaner and claims she came onto him and made up the allegation because she was insulted that he turned down her advances.
Rifleman Tarahang Rai, 26, denied sexual assaulting the cleaner at the base after it was was alleged he begged the woman for a kiss several times while she was doing her job
Bulford Military Court in Wiltshire heard a British Army Gurkha, Mr Rai, 26, repeatedly pestered a female cleaner for a kiss before trying to drag her into a toilet cubicle for sex
ShareBulford Military Court in Wiltshire heard the woman was cleaning on the Tuker Lines base in Brunei when she was sexually assaulted by Mr Rai
Bulford Military Court in Wiltshire heard the woman was cleaning on the Tuker Lines base in Brunei when she was sexually assaulted by Rfn Rai.
Prosecuting, William Peters said: 'The female cleaner encountered Rfn Rai on three occasions within the men's toilet that it was her job to clean.
'On the first two occasions he made suggestive comments to her and asked for a kiss and on the third and final occasion he actually grabbed hold of her and tried to pull her into the cubicle having again asked her for a kiss.'
Mr Peters told the court she first went to the men's toilet block to wash some mugs and she was met with silence after calling out to check there was no one inside.
After entering the toilet block, she found Rfn Rai who asked her to do what she described as 'silly things' such as kiss him.
The cleaner then left to carry out some of her other cleaning duties and returned to the toilets later to finish the washing up she had started.
She thought the coast was clear again as she got no response when she asked if anyone was in the toilet but Rfn Rai was still there so she left.
On the third occasion, the woman called out again to no response and also could not see anyone in the toilets as Rfn Rai was behind a partially closed cubicle door, the court heard.
Mr Peters said: 'He emerged and and continued where he left off, harassing her, but took it a stage further and grabbed hold of her forcefully and tried to pull her to the toilet. After a relatively short time, she was able to push him off.'
The cleaner said it was 'painful' when Rfn Rai grabbed her wrists and she was 'scared' of losing her job if she made a fuss.
She said: 'He really wanted to ask silly things, some things like requesting to kiss.
'In my mind [I could tell] there was something wrong with this guy. I knew already he was going to do a bad thing.
'He asked me to kiss him and then wanted to do a bad thing.
'I wanted to scream but I did not want to create any trouble at the time because I was scared of losing my job.
'I rejected him politely because I know the Army is more powerful than a weak woman.
'I said 'please leave me alone'... he said 'just a couple of minutes, just for a few minutes'.
'I tried to get out but he wouldn't let me go.
'I said 'just let me go, just let me go', he said 'no'.
'He asked for sex... I told him I wasn't really interested.
'I was very scared. I tried to calm down myself [and tried] not to panic. He was forcing me to kiss him, I told him let me go or I would shout.
'Once I told him I would shout he [let go of] my hands.
'I said if you do not let me go then I will have to tell my supervisor. Maybe at the time he thought I was just kidding, he did not believe I was brave enough to complain.
'I was angry with him but I managed to control the situation.'
After breaking free from Rfn Rai's 'rough' grip and leaving the toilets, the woman reported the incident to her boss.
Rfn Rai, of the 2 Royal Gurkha Rifles, denies one charge of sexual assault and claims the cleaner made advances towards him while he was urinating and called him 'cute' in Facebook messages before he claims he blocked her.
The cleaner denied this and said she had never messaged Rfn Rai on Facebook.
The trial continues.
Sorry we are not currently accepting comments on this article.
Advertisement AdvertisementAdvertisementNEW ARTICLESHomeTopShareSitemapArchiveVideo ArchiveTopics IndexMobile AppsScreensaverRSSText-based siteReader PrintsOur PapersTop of pageDaily MailMail onSundayThis is MoneyMetroJobsiteMail TravelZoopla.co.ukPrime LocationPublished by Associated Newspapers Ltd
Part of the Daily Mail, The Mail on Sunday & Metro Media Group
dmg mediaContact usHow to complainLeadership TeamAdvertise with usContributorsTermsDo not sell my infoAbout MailOnlinePrivacy policy & cookiesAdvertisementAdvertisement
