Major Ben Stephens: Decorated senior Army officer avoid jail after sex assault

Major Ben Stephens, 44, was acting as a Lieutenant Colonel when he groped the young NCO, a court martial heard.

On Monday, Stephens was sentenced to 20 weeks’ imprisonment, suspended for two years, as well as being ordered to do 220 hours of unpaid work.

The intelligence officer, who has just under 21 years’ Army service and was awarded the Queen’s Gallantry Medal in 2011, was also dismissed from the Army.

Judge Advocate Edward Legard told Stephens his behaviour was “inexcusable”.

He told the defendant: “You ought to be a living, breathing example, a person to whom subordinate soldiers aspire to become.”

The court marital hearing at Catterick Garrison, in North Yorkshire, heard how the incident happened when Stephens, the young woman and a colonel went out in Dubai in April 2022 when he was serving with the British Defence Staff.

Stephens became extremely drunk and embarrassing to the point at which the other two soldiers decided they should all leave.

The court heard how, when the colonel went to the toilet, the woman and Stephens left the restaurant together, and this is when the sexual assault happened.

The woman told the court how the drunken defendant had told her before the assault: “I want you,” and asked: “Do I intimidate you?”

When the colonel returned, the woman mouthed “help me” to the senior officer.

Judge Advocate Legard said: “What you did that evening was unconscionable – a decorated senior officer taking an opportunistic advantage of a young female many ranks your subordinate.”

He also praised the young soldier for her bravery in coming to court on Monday and reading her personal statement in front of her attacker.

She faced Stephens in court and told him: “I’ve never felt that scared before and it is a feeling I’d never wish for anyone.”

The woman told him: “I want you to know what you have put me through and the impact on my life.”

And she added: “Not a day goes by without me thinking about how you sexually assaulted me. I hope you have some remorse for your actions.”

The judge advocate said that there were signs in a pre-sentence report that Stephens was showing remorse and an understanding of the impact of his actions.

But he told the court there was now doubt about this after it emerged the defendant had told 50 members of an Army golfing WhatsApp group that his victim’s account was exaggerated, misremembered and inaccurate.

The judge advocate praised the woman for the “bravery she demonstrated in coming to court and looking her assailant in the eye”.

Stephens was found guilty of one count of sexual assault after a trial earlier this year.

He was was awarded the Queen’s Gallantry Medal by the late Queen for his attempts to save colleagues who were trapped when an armoured vehicle which left the road and was submerged in a canal in Afghanistan in 2010.

The court heard he was also decorated by the Danish government after that incident and had subsequently been decorated by the United States for his work in intelligence.

The judge advocate said the board had taken into account the fact that Stephens had provided “important and, at times, critical service to Queen, King and country in very challenging circumstances”.

He accepted that the defendant had mental health problems relating to his service and used alcohol as a coping mechanism.

But the judge advocate stressed this was not an “excuse” or an “explanation” for the sexual assault.

Matthew Bolt, defending, said the assault was “a true aberration”.

The barrister said: “He has never behaved in this way to a woman before and he’s never behaved in this way since.”

Mr Bolt said that “set against that one to two-second incident” there was 20 years of service to his country, saying his client had given “the best years of his life” to the Army, serving on multiple tours of duty.

He said Stephens had also paid a financial price for his behaviour. The court heard how his dismissal would mean a £28,000 reduction in his annual pension and a £80,000 reduction in his lump sum retirement payout, compared with if he had completed his service.

Mr Bolt said his client had now given up alcohol.

As well as the suspended jail sentence and unpaid work, Stephens was given a community order which included 10 rehabilitation requirement days.