Army Major who groped female colleague at Christmas party allowed to resume nursing career
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A disgraced Army Major who drunkenly groped a junior officer on the dancefloor at a Christmas party is free to resume his career in nursing, a tribunal has ruled. Robin Dews danced up to the female colleague on his unit with his arms in the air before reaching down and touching her between her legs.
Dews, a qualified nurse and Army medic based at barracks in Catterick who was honoured for his work during the pandemic as a liaison with the NHS, faced a court martial where he was convicted of sexual assault. His stellar military career was brought to an abrupt end after receiving a six-month suspended prison sentence in 2023.
At a Nursing and Midwifery Tribunal last month, a panel concluded Dews should be sanctioned because of the conviction. But they stopped short of striking him off, concluding he should be punished with a two-month suspension - leaving him free to pursue a career in nursing from this Spring.
The tribunal was told the sexual assault happened at an Apres-ski-themed Warrant Officers and Sergeants Mess Christmas party in December 2022. “You were observed dancing in close proximity to a female,” said the tribunal’s ruling. “You approached her with your arms outstretched and then proceeded to swipe your hand from her buttocks to her vaginal area.
“This was a deliberate assault that left her and an officer, who was watching nearby, in a total state of shock and bewilderment.”. The victim, a junior officer, reported the assault as Dews was led away from the party. Dews, a 24-year Army veteran who is married, denied two counts of sexual assault at the court martial. He was cleared of one and convicted of the other.
