Defence Force officer faces prison sentence

A Defence Force officer faces a prison sentence. Photo / Thinkstock

A Defence Force officer sexually assaulted a female colleague in her room after a drinking session on an army base.

Lindsay Robert Thomas Tarring now faces a prison sentence after being found guilty of sexual violation, by unlawful sexual connection, yesterday following a jury trial at the Auckland District Court.

He was acquitted on a second charge of unlawful sexual connection and two other charges of indecently assaulting a woman and common assault, which all related to the same incident in the Trentham Army Camp in August 2013.

The 32-year-old was playing drinking games with the victim in the barracks lounge on a Tuesday night and offered to walk her back to her room shortly before midnight, before following her inside and locking the door behind her.

The victim told the court that Tarring, whose wife was pregnant, then said he was attracted to her and wanted to sleep with her.

He then tried to kiss her and despite her saying no, pushed her down to the ground and forced her to perform oral sex.

She laid a complaint and when spoken to by police, Tarring said he believed the victim had consented.

Tarring, whose specific role in the Defence Force is suppressed, is in custody and will be sentenced next month.

A spokeswoman for the Defence Force declined to comment "at this time" as the matter was still before the court.