'Intimidating' female sailor who sexually assaulted four shipmates kicked out of Royal Navy
One higher-ranking victim recounted the shame she felt after being molested by her subordinate
An "extremely intimidating" female sailor who groped her crewmates' has reportedly been kicked out of the Royal Navy and sent to military prison for 18 months.
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Able Seaman Sian Dowsett, 25, waged a "disgraceful" sexual assault campaign against four colleagues on a Royal Navy ship.
A court-martial heard how the sailor deliberately targeted fresh recruits and shipmates aboard the Type 45 destroyer HMS Dauntless to "dominate and embarrass" them.
She thought they wouldn't dare report her, with trial witnesses branding her a "cancer on the ship."
One higher-ranking victim recounted the shame she felt after being molested by her subordinate at Bulford Military Court in Wiltshire.
The victim said: "I shared a mess with her and I couldn't talk about the incident because she would hear. I was also embarrassed - not only that I had been sexually assaulted by a woman but a woman who was of a lower rank than me and who should look up to me.
"She was an extremely intimidating character. She would scream and shout at people. I had so many sleepless nights when she was aboard.
"She had unrestricted access to me and I honestly believed she would physically attack me. I thought if she knew I reported it her anger would have been uncontrollable."
A male victim said he was left "anxious" after an attack in the sick bay, which followed another assault in the hangar.
"I felt guilty that I let it happen but I didn't tell her to get off. I was assaulted again in the hangar. She did this to me in front of two males I work with which made me feel embarrassed. I stood there in disbelief," he said.
Dowsett was officially dismissed from His Majesty's Service over six convictions for sexual assault alongside her 18-month detention sentence.
Defending Dowsett, lawyer Michael Green cited a recent autism diagnosis, arguing it could lead to "social exploitation" and "interpersonal misunderstanding".
However, assistant judge John Atwill rejected this, saying she did "acts that any person would know are unacceptable."
Just Atwill, addressing Dowsett directly during sentencing, said: "Service personnel have little choice over who they work and live with. The confines of work in ships bring them into close proximity with work colleagues.
"The use of that proximity to abuse and dominate others violates their autonomy and drives division into the teams in which they work.
"Your behaviour towards them was disgraceful. You upset, frightened and disconcerted them and you had no regard for the impact of your behaviour. You were a predator in that ship, and seemed to target newer members."
He said Dowsett "used sexualised behaviour to dominate or embarrass" her crewmates.
"Sexual offences undermine the essential trust at the heart of our service.
"It undermines team cohesion and effectiveness. There is no place for behaviour of this sort in His Majesty's service."
Many victims were initially hesitant to come forward out of embarrassment that a junior female sailor was doing this. Once they realised Dowsett was targeting multiple crewmates, they joined together to report her.