Puckapunyal gunner Jermaine Schmidt found guilty of raping female soldier at Victorian base

A Puckapunyal gunner who raped a female soldier in her bed later called the victim “dude” and promised it “won’t happen again x”.

A soldier was raped while staying at the Puckapunyal Barracks.

A Puckapunyal soldier raped and sexually assaulted a female colleague who had been asleep in her bed at the central Victorian army barracks.

Jermaine Schmidt, 22, fronted the County Court on Monday after he was found guilty of rape and sexual assault.

Schmidt violated his victim after she and some friends visited the base pub nicknamed ‘the boozer’ a few years ago.

The court heard Schmidt was one of only two soldiers at the base pub when the victim and her friends arrived.

The victim, who had never been “intimate” with the man, left the boozer shortly later.

Schmidt sent the victim two text messages after she had gone back to room and fallen asleep.

Schmidt wrote: “Be coooooooooool” and “What is the room number”.

The victim was woken shortly after by Schmidt and another soldier who were looking for cigarettes but she sent them on their way,

Shortly after, the victim woke again to find Schmidt in her room tapping her leg.

Schmidt asked the victim if he could stay in her room but she said “no”.

However, the degenerate grub “nagged” his victim for another 10 or 15 minutes pleading to stay in her room.

The victim “in defeat” allowed Schmidt to stay in the room but only if he “stayed on his side of the bed”.

Schmidt sexually assaulted the victim who woke up and asked him what he was doing.

The victim told Schmidt to stop so he said “sorry” and rolled over.

The court heard the victim wrapped herself in her quilt tighter and moved closer to the wall to “make it harder for (Schmidt) to touch her”.

The victim woke about an hour later to find her assailant touching her, kissing her neck and attempting to remove her pyjamas and underwear.

Schmidt then raped his victim.

The victim told Schmidt to stop but he didn’t.

Instead, Schmidt became more forceful and pinned the victim down.

The victim was able to get Schmidt off her so he said “sorry” again, rolled over and fell asleep.

The victim fled to a bathroom where she remained in an “upset state” for 30 minutes.

Schmidt was awake and out of the bed when the victim returned to her room.

Schmidt asked for “directions” on how to leave her room “without being seen”.

Schmidt sent the victim two text messages later that morning.

“Hey dude. Just wanted to apologise about last night/this morning! I do not

remember staying there at all I woke up this morning very fkn confused. Theres no

excuse for me staying the night because I was drunk not really fair! I’m sorry I

stayed I literally had no idea I was staying I’m super sorry! I’ll take you out and

apologise again through out the week!! Again I’m sorry! It won’t happen again x,” Schmidt wrote in the first message.

Schmidt followed a couple of hours later with this message: “Are you okay? Or did you need to cool off?”.

The rape was reported to military police who referred the allegations to Victoria Police.

Schmidt told investigators he knew the victim, had been at the boozer that night but denied all other accusations.

Schmidt will be sentenced at a later date.

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