Female soldier, 21, 'drunkenly groped colleague trying to comfort her'

A female member of the British Army Air Corps repeatedly sexually assaulted a female colleague before stubbing out a cigarette on her face after she rejected her advances, a court heard.

Olivia Nelson is accused of kissing, groping, trying to undress and intimately touching her fellow soldier who had offered her comfort after she broke up with her girlfriend.

Jurors were told the 21-year-old drunkenly forced herself on her alleged victim in Army barracks and then in the toilet of a pub during a night out. 

When the woman - who cannot be named for legal reasons - managed to escape being groped, Nelson then put out a cigarette on her face, the court heard.

The Air Army Corps is the combat aviation arm of the Army.

Nelson denied six charges related to sexual assault and one count of assault occasioning actual bodily harm at Winchester Crown Court. 

Opening the case, prosecutor Mark Karpinski told the court that Nelson and her colleague 'quickly became friends in a strictly platonic sense' when they met at Middle Wallop Army Barracks, Hants.

The alleged assaults took place several days after Nelson ended her relationship with her girlfriend.

'The [colleague] wanted to be supportive and offered [Nelson] all of the comfort that you would expect from a good friend,' he said.

'A couple of days later the defendant went out drinking,' Mr Karpinski added.

Nelson returned to the barracks 'intoxicated', and tried to kiss her colleague.

'[The colleague] was in bed and [Nelson] walked up to [her] bedside and initiated unwanted sexual activity without consent, particularly she tried to kiss [her].'

'Some time later [the colleague] went to the communal toilet cubicles and showers,' he said.

Nelson followed her and tried to kiss her again, the court heard.

The alleged victim rejected Nelson's advances and tried to go to bed, but Mr Karpinski said it was here that Nelson tried to undress her, 'again without her consent'.

'[The colleague] returned to bed, [Nelson] followed [her] and tried to undress her while she was in bed again without her consent,' he said.

The jury was told that a few days later, there was a social event at a pub in nearby Andover.

'Both [the alleged victim] and [Nelson] attended as part of a wider group,' said Mr Karpinski.

Nelson allegedly followed her colleague into the toilets during this event.

Mr Karpinski said Nelson 'grabbed her breasts and tried to kiss her', before also trying to touch her intimately.

The colleague allegedly 'managed to escape', but Nelson went after her and tried touching her intimately again, over her clothing.

A short while later, Nelson 'put a cigarette out by stubbing it on [the alleged victim's] face'.

In a police interview, Nelson 'answered no comment to all questions put by the police'.

Nelson has been charged with five counts of sexual assault, one count of attempting to assault by penetration and one count of assault occasioning actual bodily harm.

She denies them all.

The trial continues.