Decorated military intelligence chief sacked for groping rookie female officer during boozy night out

A DECORATED military intelligence chief was yesterday sacked for groping a female officer.

Lt Col Benedict Stephens, 44, assaulted the rookie NCO during a boozy staff night out.

Stephens, honoured for bravery in Afghanistan, had been off duty in Dubai in April last year.

After molesting the woman, he asked: “Are you intimidated by me?”

He had denied sexual assault but was found guilty last month.

Yesterday at the court in Catterick, North Yorks, he was given a 20-week jail term, suspended for two years.

Judge Advocate Edward Legard said: “What you did that evening was unconscionable.

“You were a decorated senior officer taking opportunistic advantage of a young female many ranks your subordinate and one who had every right to feel safe and secure in a senior officer’s presence.

“The impact on her cannot be overstated.

“Such was the shock of what you did to her that she became hysterical and was hyperventilating.

“Subsequent to this she has endured feelings of guilt and embarrassment and she fears being painted as the villain as opposed to the victim.”

He was dismissed.

Stephens received the Queen’s Gallantry Medal in 2011 for trying to save comrades from a sinking vehicle in Helmand.