A British Army sergeant in the Welsh guards who raped a female colleague while they shared a bed after a night out has been jailed for ten years.
Sergeant Tauhakau Viavialevu and his colleague were stationed in Belize when he ‘saw red’ and he attacked her.
Sgt Viavialevu and the fellow soldier had been on a ‘spontaneous’ off-duty trip to the coastline whilst they were both stationed in the Caribbean country.
After a long drive, the pair went out and Sgt Viavialevu – of the the Welsh Guards – ‘drank heavily’ before they returned to the room he had booked which had just one double bed.
During the night Sgt Viavialevu began the assault by ‘spooning’ the victim, who tried to move away from him, before kissing her neck and removing her clothes before raping her.
The victim, who cannot be named for legal reasons, said Sgt Viavialevu was ‘just not listening’ despite her asking him to stop repeatedly and she felt she had ‘no chance’ of escaping the abuse.
Bulford Military Court, Wilts, heard that the sergeant held her arms down during the attack to stop her moving away.
Sgt Viavialevu has now been jailed for 10 years.
Sergeant Tauhakau Viavialevu and his colleague were stationed in Belize when he ‘saw red’ and he attacked her
At Bulford Military Court, the disgraced soldier was also ordered to pay his victim £11,000.
Sgt Viavialevu had been found guilty of one count of rape and one count of sexual assault by penetration.
He had claimed nothing sexual happened between him and his victim.
Opening the case, prosecutor Colonel Jim Carmichael said the female soldier was not ‘initially bothered’ by sharing a bed with Sgt Viavialevu.
Col Carmichael said: ‘[The victim] and Sgt Viavialevu decided to take a trip around the coast of Belize.
‘They went to a bar, Sgt Viavialevu drank heavily and became intoxicated, she did not have much to drink.
‘Sgt Viavialevu had booked a room with one double bed, this did not bother her initially.
‘in the early hours she was lying in bed and Sgt Viavialevu began spooning her, she tried to ignore him by lying on her front.’
At Bulford Military Court, the disgraced soldier was also ordered to pay his victim £11,000
He continued: ‘She told him she was not in the mood, Sgt Viavialevu then put his hands inside her underwear.
‘She tried to keep her legs closed but Sgt Viavialevu forced her legs open and penetrated her with his fingers.
‘She repeatedly told him to stop, Sgt Viavialevu then pulled off her shorts, he was too strong, [the victim] did not want to do this.
‘He pulled his own boxer shorts down and pushed his penis in her vagina, he held her arms down.’
Col Carmichael told the court the next day Sgt Viavialevu acted as if nothing had happened and the pair continued with their trip, in separate rooms, before returning to base.
The soldier initially tried to continue with her work as normal but a few months later decided to report the matter after Sgt Viavialevu slapped her on the bottom.
She said she felt ‘angry’ at not being able to defend herself and that Sgt Viavialevu seemed like a ‘different person’ during the assault in a video interview shown to the court martial.
In the police interview, she said: ‘I just thought ‘there is nothing I can do’. I kept saying ‘can you stop’, he was just not listening to me.
‘I felt hopeless, I knew I would have no chance against him.
‘I was angry at myself because I couldn’t defend myself, I was angry at him because this wasn’t the person I thought I knew.
‘It was like he’d seen red, his eyes didn’t look the same, I felt like I was looking at a different person.’
