Sailor Ashley Hoogwerf charged with screwdriver assault on colleague
A former sailor has alleged his former supervisor slapped him while on the job and once put a screwdriver up his bum. The man denies the claims. Find out what happened in court.
Canberra Star
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A former sailor has told a Canberra military court he didn’t complain about his navy supervisor, who he claims indecently assaulted him with screwdriver, because reporting alleged abuse “doesn’t win you friends”.
Chief Petty Officer Ashley Hoogwerf is facing trial at the Defence Force Magistrates Court in Canberra after pleaded not guilty to two counts of an act of indecency without consent and two counts of assaulting a subordinate.
All charges against him relate to the same former sailor.
Hoogwerf‘s lawyer, Lieutenant Commander Malcolm Gracie, told the military court the alleged victim lied about the ordeal after being refused an overseas deployment.
The complainant, who had been in the navy for over a decade and held the rank of Able Seaman, gave evidence on Tuesday that CPO Hoogwerf would slap or grab his buttocks four to five times a week while he was performing maintenance tasks on the ship.
He alleged at some point in May 2019, while working on a ladder, he asked for a screwdriver.
The former sailor, from Tasmania, said CPO Hoogwerf placed the screwdriver between his buttocks near the anal region while he was fully clothed.
He said when this happened, he almost lost balance and swore at his supervisor who walked away laughing.
The man also alleged in another incident in May 2019 CPO Hoogwerf humped the back of his head while he was sitting down at the edge of a structure on the boat.
He claimed in another incident his supervisor came up to him and rubbed his face and beard in the man’s face.
The former sailor said he could not recall any of the exact dates of the alleged incidents, saying they all happened in times and places where there were no witnesses.
“ (Hoogwerf) was quite clever about where he did it,” the man said.
During cross examination Lieutenant Commander Gracie grilled the former sailor about his decision to report CPO Hoogwerf when he was leaving the navy in 2021, years after the alleged incidents.
The defence lawyer suggested coming forward about the alleged abuse would help the former sailor justify why he was refused a sought-after overseas deployment due to alcohol abuse and to “suit his story”.
“Why would it suit me to be sexually assaulted?” the former sailor replied.
The man told the lawyer he began to use alcohol to “self medicate” and considered the alleged abuse as a cause for his problems.
Lieutenant Commander Gracie told the man it was “incredulous” he “deeply wanted” to be deployed, when he would have been working with CPO Hoogwerf “despite being sexually assaulted”.
“I had taken it for 18 months. I thought I could handle it a bit longer,” the former sailor replied
“Why not report it then?” Lieutenant Commander Gracie said.
“Reporting the incident doesn’t win me any friends. I’ve lost friends over this,” the former sailor replied
“It didn’t stop you in 2021,” Lieutenant Commander Gracie remarked.
“I was leaving the ADF,” the former sailor said.
The trial continues.
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