A HOUSEHOLD Cavalry soldier is facing deportation after getting one of his colleagues blackout drunk and sexually assaulting his girlfriend.
Britain’s top military judge warned Joeli Ratu, 29, that he was facing being sent back to Fiji after he sentenced to the soldier to 11 months in detention over the frightening sex attack.
Joeli Ratu now faces being deported to Fiji after being found guilty of the sexual assaultCredit: Solent
The three day trial was held at Bulford Military Court in WiltshireCredit: Solent
A court heard Ratu made a “concoction” for a that made him pass out before assaulting the drunk man’s sleeping girlfriend.
Ratu waited until his comrade was unconscious before entering the soldier’s bedroom at Hyde Park Barracks in Knightsbridge and subjecting the sleeping woman to a terrifying 20-minute assault.
The victim told a military court that she “felt like a mouse trapped in the corner” as Ratu grabbed her and tried to convince her to have sex with him.
Ratu denied two counts of sexual assault but was found guilty after a three day trial at Bulford .
The Household Cavalry trooper met the woman early one evening when they were out drinking at a bar with other soldiers.
On the night of the assault Ratu had taken an “immediate interest” in his fellow girlfriend, the was told.
After a few drinks, the group all went back to the boyfriend’s flat at and continued drinking.
The woman was “exhausted” and after three drinks she went to bed in the flat.
Ratu stayed longer than everyone else and proceeded to make a strong alcoholic “concoction” for his fellow soldier that caused him to pass out.
The boyfriend took himself to the bathroom after becoming too drunk and asked Ratu to let himself out of the flat.
Instead of leaving, however, Ratu went into his colleague’s room, where he knew the man’s girlfriend was asleep.
She slept shirtless with a pair of shorts, and told the court she felt safe even though the lock on the door was broken because she thought a barracks would be the “safest place.”
But she woke up to find Ratu on top of her.
The victim told the : “When I woke up Ratu was over the top of me. I remember waking up and seeing a face next to my face.
Ratu was a member of the Household Cavalry, a senior regiment of the British ArmyCredit: Solent
Britain’s top military judge sentenced Ratu to an 11 month detentionCredit: Solent
“It was split second where I saw it and jumped back. I was like ‘what’s going on, where’s my boyfriend?’
“I can’t get up and run because he’s over me and in front of the exit. He’s trying to convince me to sleep with him.
“I kept backing off but every time I went further away he got closer to me, no matter how far away I moved. He tried to grab me, and I was very adamant about asking where my boyfriend was.
“I kept thinking Jesus Christ, what have I got into? If I don’t do something, something is going to go terribly wrong.
“It was like a cat trying to pounce on something. Like cat and mouse, and I felt like a mouse trapped in the corner.
“He’s frantic while I’m trying to remain composed. I remember him saying I should be his one night stand and that my boyfriend was passed out.
“He kept saying there’s no one here and your boyfriend’s gone. Trying to tell me that there’s no option, this is the only option. He won’t stop advancing on me as if it’s going to change my mind.
“I don’t know what was going through his mind to go into a room where a girl is sleeping and get on top of her.
“I can’t understand it. He kept asking for sex and trying to kiss me.”
After 20 horrifying minutes Ratu listened to the woman’s pleas and fetched her boyfriend.
“He came in carrying my boyfriend and dumped him on the bed”, she said.
“He was so, so sick. Ratu said ‘I’m sorry for getting him so drunk’ – and that wording stuck out to me because my boyfriend was capable of making his own decisions.”
Ratu eventually left the flat but tried to kiss the woman’s neck again as he went, she reported the terrifying incident the following day.
Defending the trooper, Ruba Huleihel said that he was born to two pastors in Fiji and moved here in 2019 to fulfil a “childhood dream” of serving in the .
She said: “Because he is a foreign national a custodial sentence could identify him as a candidate for deportation by the .
“That would have a devastating impact on him and his family. He hopes to apply for citizenship soon.
“It will mean the loss of his career that was a childhood dream for him.”
Ratu has been to 11 months’ service detention, placed on the sex offenders register for five years and been kicked from the armed forces.
Judge Advocate General Alan Large apologised to the former soldier “if he is deported” because of it.
The concluded: “Sexual offending undermines the bond of trust that exists between those who serve together. It affects morale and overall effects operational effectiveness.
“The effect on morale and the adverse effect on the reputation of the armed forces. This is just the sort of offending that young female service personnel fear.
“You entered her bedroom while she was asleep, half-naked and vulnerable. You persisted in your assault of her and caused her a lot of harm.
“We consider it in the interest of justice to send you to the military corrective training centre in . It will reduce the burden on the system and let you use the excellent facilities there.
“If that means you will be deported then we are sorry.”
The terrifying assault unfolded in a flat at Hyde Park BarracksCredit: Peter Jordan
Eze Chidiebere Paul
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