Lieutenant Colonel appeals ADF assault convictions

An ADF lieutenant colonel who was convicted of drunkenly assaulting a junior soldier at a rugby match has lost his appeal against the matter.

A decorated ADF member whose seniority was reduced after he was convicted for molesting a subordinate while drunk at a rugby match has failed his sentence appeal – despite trying to claim the magistrate acted unfairly toward him.

Lieutenant Colonel Sean Patrick Kearns was last year sentenced to a reduction in seniority of rank for the offence, a punishment which meant he was shuffled into a desk job.

Kearns, 41, was found guilty of prejudicial conduct and assault, with Defence Force Magistrate Brigadier Michael Cowen QC finding he “intimately” rubbed a young woman’s thigh, twirled her hair and massaged her shoulder while at an ADFA rugby club bar night in 2020.

Lieutenant Colonel Sean Kearns holds a framed picture of his daughter in Afghanistan as part of a promotional push to portray the Army as family friendly. Picture: ADF

The woman, who cannot be identified, told the court she has suffered panic attacks since being assaulted by Kearns.

“This was not what I deserved or expected from a senior officer,” she said.

The conviction meant he lost the opportunity for a high-profile posting in Canada, and saw the army rescind a recommendation that he be awarded an Order of Australia for his decades of service.

However, two months after his conviction and punishment by the Defence Force Magistrate (DFM), administrative action was initiated against Kearns, proposing to terminate his appointment.

He was ultimately discharged on another basis.

Despite no longer being employed by the ADF, he launched an appeal against the conviction on the grounds that a “substantial miscarriage of justice had occurred” during his trial.

The appeal alleged Major General Cowan erred in rejecting Kearn’s sworn testimony; that the convictions were “unsafe and unsatisfactory”; and that the magistrate fell into error by “taking into account the absence of a motive to lie” resulting in a “miscarriage of justice”.

The assault allegedly happened during a rugby night. Picture: Wesley Monts

Through the appeal in the Federal Court, he asked the Tribunal to assess the sufficiency and quality of the evidence, particularly that of intoxicated prosecution witnesses, to “see if the DFM had a reasonable doubt about his guilt.”

During his appeal in the Federal Court however, the Tribunal found that his argument “fell away”, and dismissed the appeal, finding the DFM rightly accepted the evidence of the victim and other witnesses.

“This Tribunal does not find the appellant’s criticism of the DFM’s reasoning persuasive,” they found.

“The DFM gave multiple reasons, not dependent on the relative sobriety of the witnesses – for disbelieving the appellant.”

However the tribunal ordered Kearns to have leave to amend the grounds of the third section of the appeal and submit another.

Since leaving the ADF, Kearns has set up his own business – Kearns Consultancy – which specialises in account management and data analysis.

Backing for our campaign

The Greens have thrown their support behind The Sunday Telegraph’s Uniform Justice campaign with their veterans spokesman declaring they “believe the victims”.

Newly minted Greens senator David Shoebridge said he was appalled by the stories of abuse uncovered by The Sunday Telegraph and promised to champion victims.

David Shoebridge has backed our campaign. Picture: Cath Piltz

“Survivors have suffered unbearable trauma within the ADF and have then been doubly abused by a system that fails to deliver justice, accountability or fair compensation,” Mr Shoebridge said.

“Speaking with survivors it is clear the system is broken, more focused on protecting and supporting the ADF than the survivors and victims who come forward seeking help.”

“We believe you and we are on your side.”

The Sunday Telegraph’s Uniform Justice campaign has told the stories of shocking sexual abuse within the ADF and has heard from multiple victims that a cover-up culture still remains.

Glenn Kolomeitz is fighting for justice.

Our campaign is calling for an end to the military police investigating sexual abuse claims internally and instead refer complaints to federal or state police with no intervention from Defence.

“These are serious crimes, with very real and human victims and survivors, and they deserve a genuinely independent investigator and arbiter,” Mr Shoebridge said.

“Military investigating other military, in many cases senior military, is an area fraught with conflicts and skewed against victims and survivors.”

Lawyer and former Army officer, Glenn Kolomeitz, who is representing a dozen survivors of military sexual trauma, said, “I have been speaking with some of our survivors and the general sentiment is one of relief and empowerment.”

“One survivor articulated this well – ‘now we have not only Senator Jacqui Lambie in our corner but also the Greens Senators. That balance of power on our side is, well, empowering after being ignored and disbelieved for so long’.”