Female sergeant accused of pulling down colleague’s trousers cleared of abuse
A female British Army staff sergeant accused of yanking up a colleague’s knickers and licking her face has been cleared of abuse at an appeal hearing.
Staff Sergeant Kayleigh Preston, who was originally demoted to sergeant, has now won her bid to have her rank restored at a summary appeal court.
It had been claimed SSgt Kayleigh Preston pulled down the lower-ranked soldier’s trousers at work while she was on a Skype video call.
She was also accused of then grabbing Sergeant Louise St Louis’s underwear and pointing out it matched the colour of her trousers.
And it was said that at another meeting SSgt Preston licked her junior colleague’s forehead, but claimed it was just “banter”.
She was disciplined and found guilty of ill-treatment of a subordinate, which led to her being reduced in rank to sergeant and ordered to pay her victim £800.
However, SSgt Preston appealed the finding and the punishment at Bulford Military Court, Wilts.
A panel of officers found in her favour. By winning her case, the original finding and sentence was quashed and was instead replaced with a fine.
