Top military intelligence chief faces jail after groping female officer during boozy night out in Dubai
Top military intelligence chief faces jail after groping female officer during boozy night out in Dubai
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A HIGHLY decorated military intelligence chief is facing jail for groping a female officer. Lt Col Benedict Stephens — honoured by the late Queen for his bravery in Afghanistan — attacked a rookie NCO after a boozy night out in Dubai. Stephens, 44, downed four pints, six cocktails and six shots while off duty from his placement with British Defence Staff.
![[Queen Elizabeth II awarding a medal to Captain Benedict Stephens.]](https://www.thesun.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/captain-benedict-stephens-mercian-regiment-966539774.jpg?strip=all&w=640)
As he left a restaurant he told the woman: “I want you.”. As he assaulted her, he asked: “Are you intimidated by me?”. Stephens claimed he was had been so drunk he could not remember the incident — but insisted he would not have attacked his victim because she was not his type.
![[Officer displaying the Queen's Gallantry Medal.]](https://www.thesun.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/one-highest-bravery-awards-british-926796292.jpg?strip=all&w=515)
However, he was convicted by a military court — leaving his glittering career in ruins. He was awarded the prized Queen's Gallantry Medal in 2011 for his attempt to save comrades after their Ridgeback armoured vehicle plunged into a 20ft-deep canal in Helmand.
![[A British army officer receives the Queen's Gallantry Medal from Queen Elizabeth II.]](https://www.thesun.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/one-highest-bravery-awards-british-926796294.jpg?strip=all&w=960)
Stephens held his breath for two minutes before managing to escape — then dived back down five times to try to rescue others as a ferocious firefight raged nearby. Four soldiers died in the 2010 incident but Stephens, a graduate of the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst, returned to frontline duty with 1st Battalion, The Mercian Regiment after 14 days in hospital.
The trauma exacerbated a drinking problem he had since 2004, the court in Catterick, North Yorks, heard. In April 17 last year, he went for drinks with the woman officer and another Lt Col. As they left at about 11pm, the other Lt Col went to the toilet.
