An Army instructor has been cleared of sexually assaulting a female officer cadet at Sandhurst while she was playing a piano. Staff Sergeant Dean Foster was alleged to have thrust his groin into the waist of the trainee officer and kissed her face while she was playing the instrument.
The cadet, who can't be named for legal reasons, said she felt the married instructor had 'pressured' her into drinking wine with him and claimed she 'froze' as he allegedly attacked her. However, following a three-day trial, SSgt Foster was cleared of the piano sex assault at world-famous Sandhurst Military Academy, where Prince William and Harry both attended.
SSgt Foster denied ever pressing his groin into the woman and claimed he rejected her offer of a 'not-innocent' hug. However, the married instructor admitted he made a 'mistake' by opening a bottle of wine and drinking with the cadet, which is against Sandhurst rules.
SSgt Foster had just had an argument with his six-month pregnant wife when he messaged the cadet to see if she wanted to meet in a social room at the Berkshire academy for a chat about her progress. But, he inappropriately 'opened up' about his marital disputes. "On reflection it was not the right decision", SSgt Foster told Bulford Military Court, Wilts.
He denied assaulting the cadet as she sat on a chair - and in a bid to prove it couldn't have happened as alleged a chair was brought in from Sandhurst and he pressed his groin against it. SSgt Foster said he 'regretted' drinking with the cadet and tried to leave quickly. "As I stood up she stood at the same time and intercepted me", he said.
"She leaned in to hug me... It was a little bit awkward, I don't want to be hugging cadets. I took half a step back and said 'sorry, I can't'. I didn't think I left it awkward but looking back potentially it was awkward." He said the allegations she made against him were 'just lies'. SSgt Foster said: "I was a bit annoyed to be honest, it was fairly clear that she was just tying to get in there first and turn it around on me."
SSgt Foster, of 29 Regiment Royal Logistics Corps, was adamant he had 'no attraction' to the cadet, who said she had 'trusted' him. He also suggested the cadet reported him to military police after he reported her to Sandhurst for breaching its Covid-19 rules by seeing her partner. SSgt Foster, who joined the Army in 2006 and has served in Afghanistan, was cleared of sexual assault by a panel at Bulford Military Court in just under an hour.
