Benjamin Seaman: Chief Petty Officer charged with indecent acts

A high-ranking officer in the Royal Australian Navy has been dismissed after he was found guilty of acting indecently to a junior officer at a house party.

Chief Petty Officer Benjamin Seaman leaves the Defence Force Magistrates Court in Canberra on January 30 2023.

A highly ranked naval officer of almost three decades has been given his marching orders after he was found guilty of indecently assaulting a junior officer at a house party.

Chief Petty Officer Benjamin Seaman has been dismissed from the Royal Australian Navy after a defence force magistrate found him guilty of two counts of acts of indecency and two counts of prejudicial conduct.

He had pleaded not guilty to each offence and the trial took place at Garden Island from March 6 to March 8.

Seaman’s offending conduct was outlined in a written judgment published by the Australian Defence Force.

“It was found proved beyond reasonable doubt that at a social event attended by various members, the offender while hugging a more junior sailor touched her indecently, then made comments about her physical appearance and sexuality,” the judgment states.

“(He) then subsequently walked up behind where she was sitting (and) touched her indecently again.”

Chief Petty Officer Benjamin Seaman leaves the Defence Force Magistrates Court in Canberra on January 30 2023.

For each of the prejudicial conduct charges Seaman was issued a “severe reprimand”.

For both the acts of indecency Seaman was dismissed from the Royal Australian Navy, heralding the dim conclusion of a lengthy military career.

The convictions and punishments were upheld following an automatic review on March 21.

As a chief petty officer, Seaman had held the highest non-commissioned rank in the RAN and previously had a spotless record.

Chief Petty Officer Benjamin Seaman leaves the Defence Force Magistrates Court in Canberra on January 30 2023.

In a brief statement, a Defence Force Media spokesman confirmed Seaman had also appeared at a defence force magistrate hearing in January 2023.

This hearing was in respect of separate and unrelated allegations Seaman had indecently touched a junior colleague, which he also denied.

Seaman was found not guilty of all of those offences after he conceded he had crawled into bed with a junior officer and touched her breast, but it could not be found beyond reasonable doubt he was awake, aware, and had intended to do so.

“Defence takes all allegations of unacceptable behaviour seriously and takes action to ensure it is dealt with swiftly and appropriately,” the Defence Force spokesman said of the March hearing in which Seaman was found guilty of acts of indecency.

“Due to the Privacy Act, Defence cannot provide any specific details of any individual members without their written consent.”