A Samoan naval sailor with the New Zealand Navy was found guilty of indecently assaulting fellow shipmates by a military court during her court martial on Wednesday.

Able Steward Roselia Daniella Epati denied three charges of indecent assault, relating to incidents that are alleged to have happened while on board HMNZS Canterbury in February 2021.

According to Stuff, Epati told a court martial, held this week at Auckland’s Devonport Naval Base, she did not touch two of her shipmates.

However, she said, she accidentally touched a superior officer and apologised straight away.

On Wednesday, after found hours of deliberations, a military panel found Epati guilty of groping two of her shipmates.

Epati gave evidence in her own defence telling the court on the evening in Lyttleton, she was drinking with friends on the ship.

Before leaving the ship, she went up to a brow with a group of friends.

It’s here the first complainant alleged Epati touched her bottom and attempted to grope the woman’s genital area.

But Epati denied ever seeing the first complainant at the brow of the ship and said that never happened.

Epati returned to the ship from Lyttleton town at about 1.30am and it was while she was getting up to the brow of the ship she is alleged to have groped a superior officer “quite forcefully”.

She allegedly said “I’ve got balls like these”, before grabbing the man’s crotch.

However, Epati said she was joking and chatting on the brow and talks with her hands.

The back of her hand made contact with the officer and she apologised straight away.

Epati said she was a “seven out of 10” on a level of intoxication at this point.

“I was trying to apologise so he knew I was sorry,” Epati said.

Epati said she didn’t grope the officer, but her hand touched his upper thigh.

The officer told her to go to bed, but Epati went down to the mess where she saw the third complainant.

The third complainant alleged Epati demonstrated what she had done to the officer and also groped her.

Epati said she told the third complainant she was in trouble, but there was no physical contact.

Under cross-examination by prosecutor Sam McMullan, Epati agreed touching of a bottom, or women and men’s genitalia, was indecent.

Epati told McMullan she was shocked when she found out the first and third complainants had lodged complaint.

In closing, McMullan said it would be a “remarkable coincidence” for all the complainants to make false allegations.

“Either they’re true or Epati is the victim of a massive coincidence,” McMullan also said.

Epati’s lawyer said there’d been conflicting evidence and significant gaps in memory from the complainants.

The sailor never touched the first and third complainants and the second was an accidental touch, not an indecent one, Hague said.

Source: Stuff