Disgraced sailor jailed for sexually assaulting three women as Royal Navy slammed for 'misogynistic culture'

The Royal Navy was warned it needs to take action to address the “stigma” women sailors face over reporting abuse after Petty Officer Greg Melrose's string of attacks on a nuclear submarine.

A court martial heard three female sailors assaulted by PO Melrose didn't want to speak out because they “feared for their safety” thanks to a “culture where they would be targeted for coming forward”.

One of them was told she was being stationed with PO Melrose, 32, while the navy investigated offences he committed against her. Assistant Judge Advocate General Jane England praised trio for being “courageous” by coming together and reporting PO Melrose.

PO Melrose was jailed for 30 months and dismissed from the Royal Navy at Bulford Military Court in Wiltshire. At a trial he was found guilty of the three counts of sexual assault and one count of indecent exposure.

It was heard he groped colleagues without permission and exposed his penis through a shower curtain. He married his partner of a decade just weeks after these incidents occurred, and remains with her.

He was serving aboard HMS Audacious when he preyed on three of his colleagues, two of whom were junior to him. PO Melrose had been serving for nine years when the Astute-class nuclear-powered submarine was stationed in the Mediterranean.

At the time he held the rank of Leading Hand. Court heard while the crew were on shore leave at a hotel in Cyprus, PO Melrose and a fellow sailor - who is anonymous for legal reasons - were at the hotel's swimming pool bar. As his colleague turned around, PO Melrose “put his hand down the back of her swimming costume, around her bottom and onto her vagina”.

His victim immediately protested, and this was witnessed by another of their colleagues who was present. She decided not to report the incident until hearing other allegations changed her mind.

At a similar time, PO Melrose exposed himself to a junior colleague while she was in the showers of the submarines. The victim was showering in the shared shower rooms when PO Melrose put his erect penis through the shower curtain. The woman was “shocked and upset and backed away as far as she could in the cubicle”.

In another incident, she had been helping him to get on his fire-fighting uniform in a practice drill. She said she ordinarily tried to keep her distance from PO Melrose but on this occasion it was expected they work together.

He took advantage of their close proximity to touch her bottom while others were not looking. His final victim considered herself a friend of PO Melrose but had established that she would not be around him while he was drunk because of his past conduct towards her. She was an Able Seaman, a rank junior to PO Melrose at the time.

The pair had been at a strip club in Crete for a social event with friends, but when PO Melrose got far too drunk, the group had to take turns carrying him back to their hotel. But when it was the sailor's turn to help, PO Melrose forcibly tried to kiss her, which drew the attention of the rest of the group.

The next morning he text his colleague to say: "I'm sorry for kissing you like that I like you so much that I was hoping you'd lose character and kiss me back haha. I'm so nervous something bad happened I honestly thought we'd wake up together. I'm gutted someone spotted us."

She replied: "You were a nightmare. I'm... loyal to my partner. Nothing will ever happen, drink or no drink." The three women reported their experiences, during which time PO Melrose had been promoted from Leading Hand.

Sentencing, Judge England said: "One of your victims said: ‘I didn't feel comfortable speaking out. Women are discriminated against in the Navy and I feared for my safety while on duty'. Another said: ‘It’s hard enough being female on a submarine. You try to keep your head down and not draw attention to yourself. By saying something you make yourself a target'.

"The Royal Navy stationed an alleged victim with an alleged perpetrator while they investigated and they will have to consider their actions in doing so. Feeling like The Royal Navy wasn't protecting her, she made the choice to work from home and missed out on her training to become an officer. She worried about the stigma of a woman reporting an incident. She's now left the submarine service and been diagnosed with PTSD."

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The judge addressed the “culture” in the navy, but said the action it had taken was “encouraging” so far. She said: “The women did not want to report it because of discrimination against women and a culture where they would be targeted for coming forward.

"They came forward because it was the right thing to do. They wanted to stop you and call out this behaviour in The Royal Navy. They were courageous to do so and they were right to do so. The Royal Navy has taken steps since these offences to tackle its misogynistic culture which is encouraging but still embryonic.

“You had three character references. All spoke highly and cannot envisage you doing these things. Perhaps that suggests they don't know you as well as they think and that you hid this part of yourself. You took little responsibility for these offences. We think your motivation for these offences was not alcohol but your desire for sexual gratification.

“Your conduct was utterly disgraceful. You used your friendship with two of these women to prey on them. You just didn't care. They have each considered whether they can continue to serve."