Army captain is cleared of groping female officer at military event after saying he was only looking for his girlfriend on the dancefloor after being beaten up in the toilets

• Captain Stuart Lindsay, 27, cleared of sexually assaulting a woman at an event
• He said he was on the dancefloor because he was looking for his girlfriend

A captain has been cleared of groping a female officer at an Army bash after she accused him of grabbing her crotch on the dancefloor.

Captain Stuart Lindsay denied sexually assaulting the woman while she danced with friends at the military function he organised.

Giving evidence yesterday, the Captain claimed that moments before the alleged offence he had just been punched in the face in the toilets and was looking for his girlfriend to ‘go home’.

The 27-year-old was cleared of one count of sexual assault following a trial at Bulford Military Court, Wiltshire.

The court heard the alleged incident happened at an event he hosted for more than 100 people including senior Army staff at Denison Barracks in Hermitage, Berkshire.

Captain Stuart Lindsay, 27, was cleared of one count of sexual assault following a trial at Bulford Military Court, Wiltshire

The court heard that Capt Lindsay said he was ‘lead organiser’ of the formal event and that organising it was so ‘stressful’ he smoked 40 cigarettes and a cigar.

He said he felt ‘attacked’ because people complained the dessert was ‘poor’, some didn’t like the entertainment, and that guests even criticised the decorations.

He admitted drinking ‘consistently’ throughout the night and was ‘intoxicated’ but ‘no more drunk than usual’.

During the night, Capt Lindsay claimed he was punched in the face by a guest, who told him his event was ‘s***’ and ‘I could run it better’.

Capt Lindsay said he then took to the dancefloor where the officer, from the Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers, was alleged to have given the female officer a ‘quite forceful’ squeeze between the legs.

The woman, who cannot be identified for legal reasons, said she had been performing a spin when Capt Lindsay touched her.

She said she shoved him away and said ‘what the f*** are you doing?’, later branding him a ‘creep’.

Capt Lindsay told the hearing he was on the dancefloor because he was simply ‘upset and looking for his girlfriend’, Jenna Stewart, having been attacked minutes before.

He claimed he did not remember the woman but accepted ‘there’s a possibility I bumped into her’.

Captain Lindsay’s girlfriend Jenna Stewart pictured outside court. Capt Lindsay said he was on the dancefloor to find Ms Stewart after an event he organised ‘was not going as well as I wanted it to’

Bulford Military Court in Wiltshire (pictured) where Capt Lindsay’s trial took place

Capt Lindsay said: ‘Of course there’s a chance, there’s a possibility I bumped into her.

‘I was focused on finding my girlfriend. I do not remember [the alleged victim].

‘The last thing on my mind was anything of a sexual nature, I was upset and wanted to spend time with my girlfriend.

‘To be candid, I didn’t even have a sexual interest in Jenna, I just wanted to talk to her.’

He added: ‘I was quite upset that the event was not going as well as I wanted it to and disappointed I had not spent more time with Jenna.

‘I didn’t particularly want to socialise with anyone but Jenna – I wanted to find her and go home.

‘I walked on the dancefloor to look for her, I was quite shaken, disappointed in the event, and felt quite introverted and wanted to go home.

‘I don’t even remember [the alleged victim], I didn’t even know what she looked like until today.

‘I had done nothing wrong, I had no interest in other women.’

A panel of Army officers cleared Capt Lindsay of sexual assault.

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