No tracking. No cookies
Subscriptions
Subscriptions
Support our mission to provide fearless stories about and outside the media system
Packed with exclusive investigations, analysis, and features…
There have been nearly 90 child sex offences in the British military in the last decade, with 40% of all sexual offences committed by Royal Air Force (RAF) personnel involving children, according to court martial data from the Ministry of Defence (MOD) seen by this paper. The data reveals that some child sex crimes have received court sentencing as lenient as “being admonished”.
In the first ever comprehensive review of child sexual offences in UK military court martial data, Byline Times examined 3,554 court martial cases. It found, over a ten-year period from, 718 allegations of sexual offences were prosecuted across all branches of the armed forces. Of these, 405 led to guilty verdicts; 89 involved children.
While the Army accounted for the largest share of sexual offences between 2014-2024, the RAF’s share of child-related crimes stood out as a significant concern, with 39% of all RAF personnel guilty sex offences at court martial involving children – some 28 of the 89.
Although RAF personnel were responsible for 18% of military sexual offences overall, they accounted for 31% of MOD child-related sexual offences. The RAF comprises just under one fifth of the UK military.
The Data Examined
Between 26 June 2014 and 21 June 2024, there were 3,554 court martial cases listed by the MOD. The most common crimes under review were for battery, ABH (actual bodily harm), AWOL (absence without leave), desertion, and theft. Of all of these court martials three quarters – 2,600 – returned a guilty verdict.
Of the court martial cases, guilty and otherwise, some 718 were listed as sex crimes. These offences ranged from accessing child abuse images to disgraceful conduct of an indecent kind. Some 405 ended with guilty verdicts. This means that whereas 75% of all court martials ended with a guilty verdict, only 57% of sex offences did.
Of all the guilty-verdict sex offences, 67% were in the army, 18% in the RAF and 14% in the Royal Navy.
What stands out, though, is the numbers of sex crimes in the RAF where children were involved. Of the 72 cases in recent years where RAF personnel have been found guilty of sex-related crimes, 28 involved children. In comparison, the Royal Navy – which is a similar size to the RAF – had six child sex-abuse guilty cases.
The RAF child sex offences were mainly linked to pictures or photographs of children – some 22 of the 28 cases (78%).
However, there have been some notable cases where physical assault also took place.
- In 2020, an ex-Chief Technician from Bulford was found guilty of indecent assault on a boy under the age of 16 and was given a sentence of 19 years.
- In 2019, a Sergeant from RAF Waddington was found guilty of arranging or facilitating the commission of a child sex offence and was given a two year Service Community Order.
- In 2020, a Senior Aircraftman in RAF Waddington was sentenced to 12 months imprisonment for attempting to cause or incite a child to engage in sexual activity with a child.
Last year, of the 12 cases where RAF sexual offences prosecutions led to a guilty verdict, five (42%), were related to child offences. This constitutes 2% of all court martial trials last year (both guilty and innocent).
Ex-RAF Cases Aren’t Counted
There are also a number of high-profile cases where former RAF personnel have also been found guilty of the physical sexual abuse of children.
One of the most harrowing involved Glenn Poyner, a 35-year-old former RAF worker who was sentenced to 19 years and six months in prison for committing eight child sex offences, including four counts of rape. Poyner’s crimes, which took place between 2018 and 2021, targeted two young girls in Shropshire and Worcestershire.
Poyner’s offending was not captured by the court martial data as he was prosecuted in a civilian court. Describing Poyner as “highly dangerous,” Judge Peter Barrie warned of the serious risk he posed to young girls, adding that his crimes warranted an extended period of supervision following his release.
Another case involved Andrew Thomason, a former wing commander in the RAF, who was sentenced to three years in prison for attempting to engage a girl under the age of 13 in sexual activity. Thomason, who was stationed at RAF Cranwell, was convicted after making sexually explicit comments in an online chatroom. Thomason’s case was not captured in the court martial data.
Alarming Trends in the RAF
There have been wider concerns about sexual misconduct in the RAF. During a recent non-statutory inquiry (NSI) into the RAF Aerobatic Team (RAFAT) and RAF Scampton, concerns were raised about the content of a mandatory Sexual Offences Brief presented to personnel.
The briefing, which covered issues such as child sex offenders and harm to children by service personnel, was met with criticism. Many felt the subject matter was inappropriate and irrelevant to their specific roles.
Overall, the NSI report uncovered a deeply problematic culture marked by harassment, bullying, and leadership failures, particularly affecting female personnel in the RAF.
Women were frequently subjected to sexual harassment, including unwanted physical contact, inappropriate messages, and sexual advances, which they often normalised due to fear of retaliation or being labeled “over-sensitive”.
The report also highlighted instances of predatory behaviour by male service members, often facilitated by alcohol. Despite multiple incidents, such as the exposure of genitals and persistent harassment, there was a lack of decisive leadership action to address it. The report called for stronger leadership oversight, more effective training, and better support for those affected by unacceptable behaviours.
Harriet Gray, a senior lecturer at the University of York, specialising in gender-based violence in the military, told Byline Times that the military has a “severe culture problem and that it does not know how to deal with it”.
Its response tends to treat those that it recognises as perpetrators as ‘bad apples,’ hanging on to the idea that people who perpetrate sexual violence in the military are the inexplicable exception, and that the ‘normal’ soldierly identity is innately ‘good’ (even ‘better,’ more than the average civilian)
Harriet Gray, lecturer University of York
Gray continued: “But at the same time, dominant forms of military masculinity and military culture continue to revolve, to a notable extent, around hypersexuality, sexual ‘banter’ and harassment, and the public denigration of the feminine, and this is generally seen as something that they cannot stamp out. Indeed that they don’t want to stamp out because it is important for things like unit bonding and coping with the hardships of military life.”
Lenient Sentencing?
There are also concerns about lenient sentencing in the court martial service. For instance, in 2023, an Air Specialist (Class 1) from RAF Brize Norton was found guilty of the attempted sexual communication with a child, making an indecent photograph of a child and the possession of an extreme pornographic image. His sentence on the court martial reads: “Admonished.” He was firmly reprimanded.
Another case in 2023 involved an Air Specialist Class 2 from RAF Coningsby who was found guilty of distributing indecent photographs of a child, making indecent photographs of a child, and perverting the course of justice. He received a suspended sentence of 21 months.
In 2020, a Flight Sergeant in RAF Cranwell was found to have been in possession of an indecent photograph of a child and was given a sentence of “240 hours unpaid work”.
And, in 2014, a Sergeant in the RAF was found guilty of making half a dozen indecent photographs of children and was ordered to pay £1500 to be recovered over three pay days.
The RAF has no influence over Court Martial verdicts, as Court Martials are independent judicial processes, functioning autonomously, much like civilian courts. Independent guidance on sentencing tariffs in the Court Martial is set out in judicial sentencing guidance produced by the Judge Advocate General.
However, Professor Victoria Basham, the Cardiff University based Editor-in-Chief of the journal Critical Military Studies, told Byline Times that her research on military culture “strongly suggests that the Centre for Military Justice’s recommendation that sexual offences should not be investigated or prosecuted by military authorities is one that should be enacted and is long overdue”.
Basham continued: “There is a strong and somewhat pernicious culture of loyalty to the armed forces within the ranks and this, along with risk-aversion and defensiveness in the senior ranks and the MoD can give rise to a larger culture of silence.
For too long, the armed forces have been allowed to mark their own homework when it comes to serious allegations about crimes that are in no way distinctly military in nature. That needs to stop
Professor Victoria Basham, Cardiff University
Context: Child Abuse in the UK
The issues within the RAF mirror broader concerns about child abuse across the UK. Last month, Byline Times revealed that over 70% of guilty verdicts for sexual offences handed down by courts in England and Wales last year involved the abuse of children. Some 7,500 of the 10,641 guilty verdicts in sexual offence cases related to the sexual abuse of children under the age of 18.
As with the RAF, a significant portion of child sex abuse cases involve indecent imagery. Of the 7,500 guilty verdicts involving the sexual abuse of children, in England and Wales at least 43% (3,223 cases) were related to offences involving the possession, creation, distribution, or publication of indecent photographs or pseudo-photographs of children. In the RAF, the rate was 78%.
The offence rate for 7,500 people convicted of a child sex-abuse in England and Wales over one year is approximately 12.5 per 100,000 people. In the RAF it is approximately 9.1 per 100,000 personnel. This means the levels of abuse in the RAF – a work space where there seems no, or rare, access to children – is not statistically different to the wider population, despite the wider population having access to places where child abuse is frequently reported, such as care homes, boarding schools and other educational establishments.
The question remains, though, despite the wider British public having a higher rate of child sex convictions in overall sex crime convictions, why is it that the RAF should have a higher rate of child sex court martial convictions than any other military service.
MoD Response
The Ministry of Defence has introduced a strategy to address serious sexual offences within the Service Justice System, including the implementation of a Zero Tolerance to Unacceptable Sexual Behaviour policy on 19 November 2022, recognising the significant harm caused by such offences to its personnel and the wider service community.
The MoD says it prioritises safeguarding through a dedicated policy, the Defence Safeguarding Partnership Board (SPB), and specialised welfare services across the RAF, Navy, and Army. The MoD has introduced the Defence Serious Crime Unit and Victim Witness Care Unit to handle serious crimes, ensuring independent investigations, support for victims, and proactive prevention efforts.
Additionally, a joint prosecution protocol was recently published to clarify criminal jurisdiction for service personnel, focusing on child abuse cases with consultation between the Crown Prosecution Service and the Service Prosecuting Authority.
An MOD spokesperson told Byline Times: “Sexual assault and other criminal offences have no place in the Armed Forces and all allegations are taken extremely seriously and investigated thoroughly. Since the introduction of the zero-tolerance policy in 2022, any service personnel convicted of a sexual offence are discharged from service. Since the introduction of the zero-tolerance policy in 2022, any service personnel convicted of a sexual offence is discharged from service.
“Whilst we have taken action to tackle this inexcusable behaviour, we know we have more to do to stamp it out. The Defence Serious Crime Unit, which investigates allegations of this nature, is independent of the chain of command and also offers specialist victim and witness support.”