Private Leah Whittle alleges she was raped by a fellow soldier — and says she has since faced obstruction, retaliation, and a disturbing lack of action from the Australian Defence Force (ADF).

“I felt like I had died on that bed when he (allegedly) raped me, and what came back was a version of myself I had never seen before,” Ms Whittle said.

“Almost like there was no life left in me anymore. And with that feeling, I then had to take on my chain of command to protect what little I had left of myself.”

Ms Whittle’s repeated pleas for the man to be stood down by the ADF have been ignored by her commanders, despite audio recordings capturing him apparently admitting wrongdoing.

“I was in the wrong. Absolutely, in the wrong … why haven’t I been punished?” the man said in the clip obtained by this masthead.

Ms Whittle, who has given her permission to be identified, alleges the rape – and a separate indecent assault – took place during a weekend away in Melbourne with fellow trainees.

Watch the exclusive video below:

Due to a booking error, several trainees, including Ms Whittle, were assigned to share king beds instead of singles. She alleges she placed pillows between herself and the man before going to sleep — but later woke to him allegedly raping her.

She remembers hearing others in the room telling him to stop “pestering” her prior to the alleged assault.

Afterwards, she went to the bathroom wearing only a shirt. The man followed, stroked her back, and asked, “What can I get you?”, before she then asked for her clothes.

The night prior, Ms Whittle alleges she was indecently assaulted by the same man.

He returned to the hotel with her in an Uber, after she fell ill from a drink at the bar where they had been in a group socialising.

She remembers him shaking her in the night, saying: “Wake up! Sergeant is coming!” and “Apparently you OD’d,” along with, “I love you.” The next morning she claims there was blood in her underwear.

Ms Whittle proceeded to report the two alleged assaults to nurses at Puckapunyal Health Centre.

She also formally reported them to her commanding officer (CO) — and subsequently handed over audio recordings in which the man appears to admit to wrongdoing.

Despite this, the Army did not take disciplinary action or launch an internal investigation and Ms Whittle and her legal team are not aware of any steps taken to verify the recordings.

The matter was instead left to Victoria Police, with the investigation still ongoing.

Both the ADF and the man were approached for comment.

Ms Whittle, who is now based in Enoggera Barracks in Brisbane, said trying to continue serving after reporting the alleged assaults had been devastating.

“I feel like there was enough that could have been done at the time to protect my wellbeing and my safety, but those policies were not actioned,” she said.

“I have now a shadow hanging over my head and confusion over my service, because I’ve spent my entire service fighting this instead of actually being able to attend courses or deploy.

“I should not have had to fight to serve.”

She said she’s missed promotions, training, and career-building opportunities that went to others who began their service at the same time.

“I feel like speaking out like this is the last attempt for accountability and justice. They tried to silence me multiple times and they tried to discharge me,” she said.

“I did nothing wrong but report my alleged rape. Nothing will stop me from advocating and speaking out for myself and my case — even if it saves one other woman.”

Ms Whittle’s lawyer, Cameron Niven, said the Army failed to act despite clear policy options — including interim protective measures like suspension.

“You can have the best policy in the world, but if you haven’t taught commanders to read the documents in front of them, there’s little good policy will do,” he said.

“The Army is not required to wait for a civilian police investigation.

“What is clear is that the Army does not understand sexual assault and does not know how to manage those complaints.”

The recent Royal Commission into Defence and Veteran Suicide delivered scathing findings about Defence’s handling of abuse. It found that military personnel are more likely to suffer trauma from within the ADF than from combat — and that sexual violence is linked to suicide, particularly among women.

Former ADF women are 107 per cent more likely to die by suicide than women in the general population.

Defence said the allegations have been investigated by “multiple agencies”, which they have supported.

“Defence takes these matters seriously and with a trauma-informed approach. Such behaviour stands in stark contrast with our values and the standard expected by the Australian people and convicted perpetrators can expect to be discharged from the ADF,” a spokesperson said.

“Defence is committed to providing a safe workplace for all personnel and to provide appropriate support and protections for victims.

“Victoria Police has primacy in this matter given the nature of the alleged offences.”

If you or anyone you know needs help:

Lifeline : 13 11 14, lifeline.org.au

Beyond Blue: 1300 224 635, beyondblue.org.au

1800RESPECT, is a 24-hour hotline for sexual assault, family and domestic violence counselling

Open Arms Veterans and Families Counselling : 1800 011 046, openarms.gov.au