Groping Navy commander kicked out of Navy

Former New Zealand navy employee Philip Wiig who has been dismissed for groping a female colleague. Photo / Supplied

A commander who indecently assaulted a female junior officer has been kicked out of the Navy.

Commander Philip Wiig was yesterday found guilty at a court martial in Auckland of the offence and today he was sentenced.

The Herald has been told he was dismissed from the Defence Force and, following the lifting of a suppression order, he was named for the first time.

At a social event at the Devonport Naval Base in 2012, Wiig grabbed the woman's buttocks.

The woman told the court martial she was groped several times and felt preyed on, violated and humiliated.

In lifting suppression, Judge Duncan Harvey said the Navy wasn't a big organisation and not naming Wiig would cast suspicion on others of his rank, Radio NZ reported.

In a statement, a military spokeswoman said: "The New Zealand Defence Force acknowledges the sentence imposed by the Court Martial of New Zealand and we have no further comment to add."

Wiig refused to comment when contacted by the Herald this evening.