Adam McQuillan: RAAF Corporal dismissed from Australian Defence Force

A defence magistrate has slammed an ADF soldier after he snapped a photo of a female colleague in her underwear and sent it to mates, who were all stationed at the same RAAF base together.

A RAAF provisional corporal has ruined his career in the Australian Defence Force after snapping an illicit photo of a female colleague in her underwear and bragging about it to his colleagues.

Adam McQuillan, 24, pleaded guilty to one count of capturing visual data and three counts of non-consensual distribution of an intimate image.

The court heard McQuillan photographed the woman in her underwear on his phone as she undressed to shower, before the pair engaged in consensual sex between June and July 2020.

McQuillan then shared the image of the victim with three co-workers, all stationed at the same RAAF base in the Northern Territory, on separate occasions in mid 2020.

The court heard when the victim confronted McQuillan about the photo following a conversation with a colleague who had viewed the image of her, he denied the photo existed.

Former Corporal Adam Quillian has been stood down by the ADF after he took a picture of his colleague in her underwear and showed it to his mates. Picture: Facebook

McQuillan was charged with these offences on December 2, 2020, and pleaded guilty at a hearing at the Defence Magistrate’s Court in Canberra before Brigadier Michael Cowen.

The Queensland man, who has been in the ADF since he was 18, has now been dismissed from the ADF and will be suspended from his duties until the decision is confirmed by a reviewing authority.

At the time of his offending, he held the rank of Leading Aircraftsman and was promoted to Provisional Corporal in April, 2021.

In a victim impact statement, the court heard McQuillan’s actions made the victim feel “like an object” and had profoundly impacted her work and relationships.

“All my friends look at me differently,” she said

“I’m tired of it all.”

The victim statement said the woman felt sick whenever she interacted with McQuillan, leading her to eventually leave the base to avoid the embarrassment of the incident.

Royal Australian Airforce marching through Darwin CBD as part of the city's 2021 Freedom Parade (file photo). Picture: Amanda Parkinson

The defending officer told the court McQuillan took the image of the victim while intoxicated, but Brig Cowen said the intoxication was not relevant to the three charges of distribution.

“If you were intoxicated, once you realised you had foolishly taken a sneaky image, it beggars belief you did not just delete it,” Brig Cowen said.

“You kept it and shared it with three other people on separate occasions.”

Brig Cowen described the incident as part of a “puerile” conversation about other people’s sex lives, in which McQuillan had bragged of his conquest at the expense of the victim who trusted him.

“You need to look into your soul about your attitudes towards women who share intimate experiences with you,” Brig Cowen told McQuillen.

“You put yourself way before the complainant – you demonstrated a complete disregard and complete disrespect for her rights, her wishes, the impact it may have on other people’s views of her.”

Brig Cowen said McQuillen had communicated by his actions, that to betray the trust of a colleague in an intimate way while in a position of leadership, was acceptable behaviour.

“It’s refreshing to see other members of the ADF appreciate the impropriety and criminality of your actions and brought it to the attention of others,” Brig Cowan said.

“There are male members of your unit who did not share your indifference to the effect your behaviour may have on somebody else – that, Corporal McQuillen, is leadership, and it’s the sort of leadership which should be nurtured and encouraged in the ADF.”

McQuillan, who appeared in the court via video link from the Northern Territory, appeared emotionless as he learned he would be dismissed from the ADF subject to approval by a reviewing authority.

“I wish you the best of luck with your future, it’s just not going to be in the ADF,” Brig Cowen concluded.