A male colleague of a Royal Navy engineer who had been accused of sexual assault testified before the court that he was unable to have committed the crime because the victim was a “demisexual.”
Due to Able Seaman Triss Smythe’s demisexuality, they need to have a deep emotional connection with someone before considering having sex.
Since of this, AB Smythe claimed that they could not have been guilty of “grinding” and kissing their fellow serviceman because they did not think the complainant to be sexually appealing.
They admitted to the court that in the beginning of their relationship, they even found it difficult to passionately kiss their own female fiancée, “much alone a coworker.”
The 23-year-old, an Air Engineering Technician, urged that they hugged and kissed his fellow sailor in a platonic but intense way in an airplane hangar.
A count of sexual assault including non-consensual contact was rejected by AB Smythe, who was known to say “I’m here and I’m gay” in the workplace. He also claimed the kiss was only a “peck.”
The three-day trial at Bulford Military Court in Wiltshire came to a close when the board returned a not guilty judgment.
The court previously heard that Smythe kissed his fellow serviceman after placing his arms over his shoulders, ‘pressing’ up against him, and making him feel ‘violated and humiliated’.
The claimed victim, who cannot be identified for legal reasons, said in court that the kiss lasted “for what seemed like a lifetime” despite the fact that both sailors were wearing “paper thin” summer overalls at the time.
Smythe allegedly “circled” his coworkers back in a helicopter hangar at the Royal Navy Air Station Yeovilton in Somerset during the trial, according to evidence presented in court.
In his testimony, AB Smythe claimed that because of their “demisexuality,” the kiss could not have been sexual in nature.
Regarding their sexuality, AB Smythe said in court, “I don’t shout it from the rooftops.”
I am constantly aware of how difficult it is to come out. I’ve had to do it myself, and it is difficult.
I identify as demisexual and have emotional needs. The asexual spectrum encompasses it.
AB Smythe said, “I don’t use it as a cover,” when he was accused of hiding their sexuality.
“The truth is I’m demisexual; with my own fiancée, much alone a coworker, sexual impulse isn’t something that comes easy.”
The court was informed that AB Smythe waited three months before beginning to feel sexually attracted to his now fiancée, despite the fact that he has been “out” as demisexual for “approximately two years” since they began dating.
He said, “I have nothing except professional and platonic feelings for [the complainant].”
The complainant had a “very intimate” talk with them the week before, AB Smythe said the court.
After the talk, they said, “he walked over and flung his arms around me in a meaningful embrace with a lot of emotion involved.” It was crucial that this hug take place, they added.
He continued by giving me a kiss on the cheek in the manner of how you would kiss a loved one in your family.
A platonic, intense, and emotional kiss.
The court was informed by AB Smythe that they had not thought of it as sexual either.
I saw it as a buddy trying to put into words something they couldn’t quite say. I wasn’t aware of any sexual undertones, they said.
The complainant, however, claimed that this incident never truly happened.
I went beside the aircraft,’ AB Smythe claimed in reference to the alleged sexual assault.
It was obvious that [the complaint] had stopped working at this point, so I decided it was a good opportunity to quickly walk over and introduce myself.
I wanted him to know that the show of platonic love wasn’t reason for concern and hadn’t altered our relationship because of the circumstances of [the week before].
I approached him from behind, crossed my arms over his shoulders, and kissed him on the cheek.
AB Smythe denied tightly grasping the complainant.
I quickly kissed him on the cheek, they continued.
They said, “No, it was designed to be a very rapid split second sort of thing,” when asked whether it was slobbery.
I don’t need to lick him.
“I don’t find him to be appealing sexually.”
Regarding the claim that they rubbed their penises on the complainant’s bottom, AB Smythe said, “My right hip would have been the closest thing to his center line.”
I won’t argue that he was emotionless. It’s a bit of a stretch for it to have been my penis through overalls, personal clothing system (PCS), and my boxers, and the same on him.
The kiss was “purely platonic, a between friends sort of kiss,” according to AB Smythe, who also claimed that the touch was “not in the smallest” bit sexual and that they had “no need to push into him.”
AB Smythe responded when informed they had no business kissing a coworker in that manner in the office: “I had the right to kiss him platonically in the same way he did to me.”