Army Sergeant Rapes Female Cadets

Bullying' Edwin Mee attacked 11 victims while working at Army careers centre in Croydon by staying late to conduct interviews with applicants out of hours, jurors told.

A "bullying" Army recruitment sergeant abused his position of trust and power to sexually attack or rape female cadets as young as 15, a court heard.

Edwin Mee, 45, allegedly attacked 11 victims while working at an Army careers centre.

A jury of seven men and five women at London's Southwark Crown Court heard that he disregarded normal Army interview procedures to keep the complainants to himself and "gauge their vulnerability".

Known as Jock, the Scottish officer is said to have carried out the attacks on women aged from 15 to their early 20s between October 2010 and September 2011.

He would stay later at the careers centre and conduct interviews with applicants out of hours to "deliberately" target his alleged victims, the court heard.

He gauged their vulnerability in order to speak about sex to them, to touch them and most serious of all to rape those over whom he had established the strongest control.

"The defendant, Edwin 'Jock' Mee, was employed as a recruiting sergeant with the British Army at the Mitcham Barracks Army Careers and Information Office (ACIO) in Croydon.

"His job was to screen their applications, interview them and support their application through the process of attaining certain fitness levels and tests. Each of the complainants in this case was a cadet whose application was in the charge of this defendant."

The court heard the process to join the Army consists of three interviews. First there is a meet-and-greet, followed by a personal interview with questions about family circumstances, motivation and commitment.

Ms Cottage told the jury: "A third interview should be conducted by a different person from the first two interviews - it is called a confirmation interview. This was not a system to which the defendant appears to have adhered.

"Each of the complainants seems to have been kept by the defendant, to himself - every interview, every appointment."

Mee, of Croydon, south London, denies 17 counts of sexual assault, three rapes and one count of assault by penetration. The trial continues.