Get all your news in one place.
100’s of premium titles.
One app.
Start reading
ABC News
ABC News
National
Elizabeth Byrne

Former Army captain who claimed 'tomfoolery gone wrong' has bottle rape conviction quashed

A former Army captain has won an appeal against his conviction for raping a colleague with a beer bottle during a work function.

Rhiley Boyson, 26, was sentenced to three months' jail in December last year after being found guilty of the crime by a court martial.

It was alleged he had violated a male colleague with a beer bottle in the men's bathroom at a function, while the man was lying on the ground.

Lawyers in the case described the incident as an act of "tomfoolery gone wrong".

Mr Boyson was dismissed from the Army and demoted.

After the verdict he was taken to Holsworthy Barracks to be detained, pending an automatic review.

In his instructions to the panel, judge advocate Brigadier Michael Cowen reflected on the circumstances.

"There were some hijinks going on in the toilets at the time," he said.

He told the court martial there was no suggestion the incident was motivated by sexual gratification.

The Defence Force Discipline Appeal Tribunal struck out the charge on Thursday, after allowing Mr Boyson to lodge his appeal later than would normally be permitted.

The conviction has been quashed.

Sign up to read this article
Read news from 100’s of titles, curated specifically for you.
Already a member? Sign in here
Related Stories
Top stories on inkl right now
One subscription that gives you access to news from hundreds of sites
Already a member? Sign in here
Our Picks
Fourteen days free
Download the app
One app. One membership.
100+ trusted global sources.