Two instructors jailed and kicked out of the Army for sleeping with 17-year-old recruit
Two Army instructor friends have been jailed for sleeping with a 17-year-old recruit and texting each other about her in a "disgraceful, indecent and misogynistic" way.
Lance Sergeant Antony Pugh and Sergeant Connor Forgan targeted the teenage trainee at an Army training centre, and both breached their position of trust by sleeping with her.
Pugh, 36, showered her with gifts from a lingerie and sex toy website and bondage equipment, while Forgan, 32, tried to persuade her to send him explicit photos of herself and then have sex with him.
'Couldn't say no'
A court martial heard the young recruit, who can't be named for legal reasons, felt like she "couldn't say no".
A military judge condemned the behaviour from the instructors and said it amounted to grooming.
After their encounters with the trainee, Pugh and Forgan – who are friends – shared "degrading and demeaning" messages about her.
Both soldiers were found guilty of having sex with a child in breach of a position of trust following a trial at Bulford Military Court in Wiltshire.
It is forbidden for trainers and trainees in the British Army to have sexual relations.
Pugh was jailed for 20 months, while Forgan was jailed for 16 months.
They were both based at Catterick, in Yorkshire, at the time.
Pugh is a member of the Grenadier Guards, the most senior infantry regiment in the British Army and has been serving in the Army for the last 17 years.
Forgan is a member of the Welsh Guards, the most senior infantry regiment in Wales, and has been serving in the Army for the last 13 years.
Commander Edward Hannah, prosecuting, said the victim was a "vulnerable child", who was "upset and lonely" at Catterick at the time.
Cdr Hannah said the victim had been messaging Pugh over WhatsApp and had arranged a time to meet him.
Amounted to 'grooming'
She then told him that she did not want to meet him at that location because she was tired, but he went to her accommodation block anyway to have sex with her.
She told her mum that she had sex with LSgt Pugh and that she had taken an STD test, and her mum had advised that she also take a pregnancy test.
The victim did not give a personal statement to the court because she said she "just wished to move on".
Cdr Hannah said that the actions of both LSgt Pugh and Sgt Forgan amounted to "grooming".
He said: "In relation to LSgt Pugh, the gifts, you may take a view that this amounted to manipulation. She was reluctant to have sex with him, and she felt she couldn't say no.
"In relation to Sgt Forgan, you may take a view that the sexual messages were solicited from the victim.
"In the WhatsApp messages, he describes obtaining images of the victim.
"The messages present evidence of persuasion. Sgt Forgan was persuading a reluctant victim.
"There was a deliberate attempt from Sgt Forgan to persuade the victim to have sex with him."
Cdr Hannah said that the messages between Sgt Forgan and the victim were not recovered from his phone, and evidence of the messages was only given from the victim's testimony in the trial.
Large degree of planning
Rachel Beckett, mitigating for Pugh, said that there was not a "significant degree" of planning orchestrated by him.
She said that he had positive references and had an eight-year relationship with two dependent children.
Ms Beckett said he had not had any criminal convictions since 2002, which was for criminal damage, and he had four unrelated service disciplinary offences.
Beverley Cripps, mitigating for Forgan, claimed that the victim could not be seen as vulnerable.
She said he had been a very talented soldier with a "very promising future".
Ms Cripps said his behaviour did not constitute grooming because there was no evidence the victim felt uncomfortable.
She said Sgt Forgan also had two dependent children.
Ms Cripps said he had no previous criminal convictions and had two unrelated service disciplinary offences.
However, Assistant Judge Advocate General Jane England said Pugh had committed a "significant" amount of planning by sending a picture of a made-up bed to the victim.
When she did not turn up to the agreed location, he decided to go to her accommodation block with condoms.
'A place of safety and sanctity'
Judge England said: "The offence was carried out in her block because you decided that her not turning up was not enough to deter you.
"In her bedroom, which was a place of safety and sanctity."
She also said that his actions constituted grooming and the messaging to her had been "grooming behaviour".
But she said he did not solicit photos from the victim because it had been a two-way exchange.
Judge England said the circumstances were different for Forgan because the victim had not wanted to say anything negative about him, but that the seriousness of the offence was still high.
She said: "In time, it might be that [redacted] sees what you did is on an even footing with LSgt Pugh."
Judge England said: "You both refer to [redacted] in a disgraceful, indecent and misogynistic manner.
"She was a 17-year-old girl, and she was not deserving of this.
"She said she wants to move on, and we hope that she can."
No responsibility for their actions
Judge England said neither of the instructors had taken responsibility for their actions and continued to deny having had sex with the victim.
She said this was an important case in the recruitment to the Army because she said women are still in the minority.
"A female recruit choosing to go into a combat role and being targeted by her instructors in phase two training will have a chilling effect on other female recruits," she said.
Pugh was sentenced to 20 months imprisonment and Forgan to 16 months imprisonment.
Both of them were dismissed from the Army and placed on the sexual offender register.
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