BRITISH ARMY INSTRUCTOR CORPORAL THOMAS BIGGS SENTENCED TO EIGHT AND A HALF YEARS IN HAMPSHIRE

A married British Army instructor, Corporal Thomas Biggs, has been sentenced to eight and a half years in prison for raping a teenage recruit at a Hampshire military base. The court martial heard that Cpl Biggs, 30, forcibly pressured an 18-year-old trainee into performing oral sex on him after waking her in the early hours while he was intoxicated. The incident occurred at the Army Training Regiment in Winchester.

Prosecutor Wing Commander Michael Saunders described how Cpl Biggs had woken the recruit from her bed around 3am, while he was drunk. He then led her to an isolated location and coerced her. The court heard that Biggs told her she would lose her job if she did not comply. The victim stated she felt she had "no other option" because he kept warning her about losing her position unless she obeyed. The assault was only interrupted when Cpl Biggs took a phone call from his wife, distracting him.

The court was shown a video of the victim’s interview with military police, in which she explained that she could smell alcohol on Biggs’s breath when he woke her. She recalled feeling confused and thinking she was receiving bad news. She described his behavior as overly close and noted that he kept asking her if she knew why she was there, making comments about her trying to impress others.

The victim said that a girl from her room had gone to the toilet, prompting Biggs to open a fire door and lead her through it. She recounted repeatedly telling him, “you will lose your job,” but he insisted, “no, you'll lose yours.” She admitted she complied out of fear, explaining, “That's the reason why I did it because at that point I was scared he would use that against me. If he didn't threaten me with the fact I could lose my job... that really got to me I just thought I'm not risking anything where I am now. He's a Corporal, he has power against me, I'm just a recruit, I have nothing.”

During the hearing, it was reported that Cpl Biggs received a phone call from his wife, which distracted him, allowing the recruit to escape and return to her room crying. A statement read aloud highlighted the emotional impact on the victim, who said, “I constantly think about what I could have done differently to have stopped Corporal Biggs from raping me but I know that I was so confused at the time. I know that I did the right thing by reporting this because Corporal Biggs’ actions and behavior cannot be tolerated.”

Judge Advocate Jane England sentenced Cpl Biggs, of the 3 Armoured Close Support Battalion of the Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers, to eight and a half years in prison and dismissed him from the Army. England emphasized that, “You owe all of the recruits a duty of care but instead you abused your position and helped yourself to what you wanted. Your actions may also deter individuals with the qualities the Army seeks from joining, fearing they may suffer similar degrading treatment from instructors.”