Matthew Wielozynski sentenced for ADF sex video scandal

An army corporal has been jailed and kicked out of the Australian Defence Force over a shocking scandal in which multiple members were filmed during sex without their consent.

A decorated army corporal who served in Afghanistan has been jailed for engineering a sordid arrangement in which his younger girlfriend filmed herself having sex with other defence force members without their consent.

Disgraced former corporal Matthew Allen Wielozynski, 35, admitted encouraging recruit Mary Smithers – 10 years his junior – to secretly film her sexual encounters with other male ADF members without their knowledge or consent for his sexual gratification.

He has been booted from the force and jailed for three months after pleading guilty to two counts of non-consensual intimate image distribution and attempting to make intimate observations over the repulsive agreement with then-girlfriend Mary Smithers.

Smithers was demoted from corporal to private and sentenced to three months’ military detention – which was wholly suspended.

“Defence takes all allegations of unacceptable behaviour seriously,” a Defence spokeswoman said in a statement.

Matthew Allen Wielozynski at court.

“Personnel found to have contravened Defence standards for behaviour can face a range of disciplinary and administrative actions, including discharge.”

Wielozynski was then taken away by military police into custody, ahead of an automatic review process.

Matthew Allen Wielozynski at court.

The defence magistrate’s tribunal heard Wielozynski, then 28, began communicating with Smithers, who was then an 18-year-old fresh recruit, in March 2018.

Their relationship quickly became intimate, with Wielozynski later encouraging her to engage in sex with other men and film it – without their consent – for his viewing pleasure.

Military prosecutor Lieutenant Colonel Punter described the offences as “particularly heinous”.

“He used the naive infatuation, devotion and eagerness to please of a very junior corporal, to feed his proclivity at the expense of the other victims,” Lt Col Punter said.

Private Mary Smithers leaves Defence Force magistrate court in Fyshwick, Canberra. Picture: NewsWire / Martin Ollman

“It is a disturbing tale of cuckoldry and manipulation all for the benefit of his own sexual gratification.”

In text messages read to the court, Wielozynski wrote: “It turns me on a lot thinking about seeing you f–k him.”

“Does it turn you on having another guy in you,” Wielozynski continued.

Over a two year and nine month period, the tribunal heard Wielozynski repeatedly instructed Smithers on how to secretly record sexual encounters with nine different men.

“Find a better place to film,” the sergeant instructed Smithers in 2019, later critiquing her camera work with messages like: “Video last night is useless, you’re off your game.”

“I can’t get anything from it, it’s just his back,” Wielozynski continued, before instructing Smithers to put her phone on airplane mode.

When Smithers expressed concerns about filming, Wielozynski replied: “Use your brain, you’re being slow.”

Matthew Allen Wielozynski at court.

The court heard details of the instructions to Smithers including telling her to “think of your brother” before one filming session, and saying “I have like seven videos of you f–king different guys”.

The relationship ended in April 2021, with the prosecutor saying Wielozynski “weaponised the military court system” by reporting Smithers to the military police when the pair’s relationship soured.

The prosecutor stated how Wielozynski was “twisted by his own katana” by attempting to expose his former partner.

“God makes them and they find each other,” Wielozynski’s defending officer said of the pair’s “moral compatibility”.

The prosecution argued that Wielozynski was the “mastermind” and “Lady Macbeth” of the operation, manipulating the young recruit and controlling “every aspect of the meeting and interaction with other men” with a degree of sophistication.

The jail sentence was the final act in Wielozynski’s complete fall from grace, with the tribunal hearing he had been left living in his car and selling possessions to eat in the remote town of Mutawintji, almost two hours from Broken Hill.

If this story has caused you distress, you can contact The Defence Member and Family Helpline on 1800 624 608, the All-hours Support Line (ASL) on 1800 628 036, and Open Arms veterans and families counselling on 1800 011 046.