ADF Sergeant Connor Sullivan faces Canberra trial over alleged groping

A female defence force officer has described the night a soldier allegedly indecently groped her during night duty and her fear of the stigma for speaking out in a ‘locker room talk’ culture.

Sergeant Connor Sullivan is accused of groping a female service member. He is facing trial at the Defence Force Military Court in Canberra. Picture: Julia Kanapathippillai

An army sergeant is defending allegations he indecently groped a female colleague on the buttocks and boasted about cheating on his wife who was home with their nine-month-old baby.

The female officer testified she had learned to navigate “locker room talk” in the Australian Defence Force but she thought Army Sergeant Connor Sullivan was saving her from an insect in the moments before the alleged incident now on trial.

Sgt Sullivan is facing a restricted court martial trial at the Defence Force Magistrates Court in Canberra after pleading not guilty to an act of indecency without consent and assaulting an officer.

He has pleaded guilty to the lesser charge of prejudicial conduct.

Army sergeant Connor Sullivan is facing trial at the Defence Force Military Court in Canberra after it was alleged he groped a female service member. Picture: Julia Kanapathippillai

The alleged victim, who cannot be named for legal reasons, told the court she would delicately steer the conversation away from explicit or inappropriate topics when she encountered “locker room talk” in her male-dominated workplace.

During her testimony, she spoke about the stigma attached to speaking up about alleged indecent acts.

“I didn’t want to be ‘that’ girl,” she said.

All charges on trial relate to an alleged incident where Sgt Sullivan allegedly groped the woman’s buttock at a training course.

The alleged victim told the court she was about to wake up another sergeant to take over the shift when Sgt Sullivan suggested “you should wear the combat shirt with holes – it drives him crazy”.

A female ADF member has spoken about the stigma of calling out sexist and inappropriate comments in the defence force. Picture: Alix Sweeney

After the woman got up from her post, she alleges the soldier told her to turn around.

She said she assumed he saw an insect or was alerting her to something dangling from her clothes.

But she said, when she turned around, Sullivan grabbed her right buttock and squeezed it for about 5-10 seconds.

She told the court she asked “what are you doing?”, with Sgt Sullivan replying “I just want to see if it’s as tight as it looks — we’ve all talked about it”.

The woman said Sullivan remarked “tense” during the alleged groping and she immediately tensed up her entire body.

She told the court two male service members went up to her following the alleged incident and asked if she had been assaulted.

She said she was shocked to find out people were discussing her, and burst into tears.

The officer testified Sullivan approached her a few days later and said “OK my bad — I must have read the room wrong”.

She said while on duty he would sometimes talk about his infant daughter and there were other times he would raise inappropriate and sexually- charged topics of discussion.

“He said ‘it does not matter how much I play up on my wife — I’m the best d--k she’s ever had’,” the woman said.

She said Sgt Sullivan spoke once about “f--king” his wife throughout her pregnancy.

During cross examination, Sgt Sullivan’s defending officer suggested the two were flirting the night before the incident.

The woman denied flirting with Sgt Sullivan, but said she could not recall the conversation she did have with him.

The trial continues.

Originally published as ADF Sergeant Connor Sullivan faces Canberra trial over alleged groping