Naval officer Jacob Von Marburg pleads not guilty to indecency on woman at HMAS Crewswell
A naval officer is accused of getting into a woman’s bed, groping her breasts and trying to tongue-kiss her after a big night out at the pub.
Canberra Star
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A naval officer stank of booze and was slurring his words when he allegedly climbed into a woman’s bed, groped her breasts and tried to stick his tongue through her lips, a court has heard.
Royal Australian Navy Sub-Lieutenant Jacob Von Marburg faced the Defence Force Magistrates Court in Canberra on Tuesday where he pleaded not guilty to two counts of committing an act of indecency without consent.
The charges stem from him allegedly going into a subordinate’s room at the navy’s officer training college at Jarvis Bay, HMAS Creswell, in the early hours of the morning following a big night at a Huskisson pub in 2018.
Sub-Lieutenant Von Marburg was just over halfway through the new officer entry course when the alleged offending took place.
Prosecuting officer Squadron Leader Jonathan Miller told the court the woman woke when she heard Sub Lieutenant Von Marburg come into her room, where he said he needed to have a chat about family issues.
The woman, who cannot be identified, said she tried to avoid Sub Lieutenant Von Marburg during her free time because he “often became excessively drunk and aggressive”.
When Sub Lieutenant Von Marburg came to the woman’s room around 2am he “had slurred speech and was not well put together”, the woman said.
She said she told Sub Lieutenant Von Marburg to sit on her chair, only for him to say it would be more comfortable in her bed.
“He turned over and tried to kiss me,” the woman said.
“He put his arm around me and tried to push my face into his.
“He grabbed my breasts and tried to kiss me again.
“He put his lips on mine and he tried to use his tongue.”
The woman said she twice tried to push Sub-Lieutenant Von Marburg away.
“I did not want to kiss him, I did not want to have any kind of interaction with him in any way.”
A witness, Midshipman Jack Amourous, told the court the woman confided him in the days after, prompting him to approach Sub-Lieutenant Von Marburg.
“It was along the lines of, ‘hey, you had a few drinks, I hear something happened’, he seemed, again, quite quiet and I feel like he knew the incident I was referring to without me having to elaborate,” Midshipman Amourous said.
“The tone of the conversation was just me saying, ‘hey, just be careful when you’re on alcohol.”
The hearing, before defence force magistrate Brigadier Michael Cowan QC, continues.