Navy engineer, 25, accused of kissing colleague says it wasn't sexual
Royal Navy engineer, 25, accused of groping and kissing female colleague on HMS Prince of Wales says it wasn’t sexual because he ‘knew she was a lesbian’
- Daniel Goffey, 25, is accused of forcibly kissing the sailor after Navy barbecue
- He insisted it was ‘the kind of thing I would have done with a male colleague’
- Navy engineer is also accused of sexually assaulting a second female sailor
A Royal Navy sailor accused of groping and kissing a female colleague on HMS Prince of Wales has told a court martial it wasn’t sexual as he ‘knew she was a lesbian’.
Able Seaman Daniel Goffey, 25, who is accused of forcibly kissing the sailor after a Navy barbecue on the warship, insisted it was ‘the kind of thing I would have done with a male colleague’.
The Navy engineer is also accused of sexually assaulting a second female sailor by grabbing her bottom as she stood in a group and again as she climbed a ladder.
But, AB Goffey has denied sexually assaulting either of the sailors and claimed he was acting in a ‘gentlemanly way’.
Able Seaman Daniel Goffey (pictured at Bulford Military Court), 25, who is accused of forcibly kissing the sailor after a Navy barbecue on the warship, insisted it was ‘the kind of thing I would have done with a male colleague’
The Navy engineer is also accused of sexually assaulting a second female sailor by grabbing her bottom as she stood in a group and again as she climbed a ladder. Pictured: Bulford Military Court
Bulford Military Court, Wiltshire, has heard the alleged attacks happened following an alcohol-fuelled barbecue on the deck of £3.1billion aircraft carrier HMS Prince of Wales.
The court heard AB Goffey was ‘intoxicated’ and made his two alleged victims – who can’t be named for legal reasons – feel ‘very uncomfortable’ by squeezing their bottoms.
One sailor said she felt ‘trapped’ as he put his arm around her, groped her buttocks, and later ‘grabbed her face and pecked her all over’.
The other sailor said she felt AB Goffey grab her bottom then tried to get rid of him by going up a ladder – only for him to grab her again as he followed her up it.
Now, giving evidence, AB Goffey has admitted he could be ‘very confident’ after a few drinks but denied abusing the sailors.
He said he ran out of alcohol and was trying to encourage the sailors to go to another party.
The alleged incidents all happened after an alcohol-fuelled barbecue onboard the £3.1billion HMS Prince of Wales aircraft carrier (pictured in February arriving into Portsmouth Harbour)
AB Goffey said he put his arm around one of them and said ‘come on let’s go’ and had done so in a ‘gentlemanly way’ to ‘usher her away’ to the party.
AB Goffey also denied touching the woman’s behind while he was following her up a ladder because he would not have been able to balance himself.
He said: ‘You have to grab the handrails to go up those ladders.
‘Everyone was drunk so you would definitely have needed to grab the handles..’
The engineer also told the court that later on in another mess, he had kissed one of the women on the forehead in a ‘friendly way’.
AB Goffey said: ‘It was in the spirit of the night, there was nothing sexual about it.
‘I knew she was a lesbian. It’s the kind of thing I would have done with a male colleague.’
It has been heard that AB Goffey was kicked out of the mess because of his behaviour and beaten by three male sailors – but he claims he does not know why he ‘had his head kicked in’.
AB Goffey, now understood to be based at HMS Nelson, in Portsmouth, Hampshire, denies three counts of sexual assault.
The trial continues.
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