Warship petty officer charged with rape of woman sailor

13 April 2012

A Royal Navy senior rating has been charged with raping a female colleague while serving overseas onboard a warship.

Chief Petty Officer Phillip Coates, a medical assistant, is due to stand trial at a courts martial being held next month at Portsmouth Naval Base.

It is understood to be the first alleged rape of a woman sailor on a Royal Navy warship since women were allowed to go to sea - except on board submarines - in 1990.

At a hearing held in December, the Judge Advocate General Jeff Blackett imposed reporting restrictions to prevent details of the alleged victim from being identified.

The list of restrictions includes the alleged victim's name, rank and service number, her specialisation within the Navy, her service or home address and the name and type of vessel in which the alleged offence took place.

The judge also banned the reporting of the location within the ship where the offence was alleged to have occurred.

Relationships between male and female sailors are banned while at sea, but allowed while ashore. The different sexes also have separate quarters and washing facilities.

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