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07
Oct 2023
Nine rapes reported at Harrogate Army Foundation College in 13 months
Nine allegations of rape at Harrogate’s Army Foundation College have been reported to police in the last 13 months.
The figures were revealed in a Freedom of Information response from North Yorkshire Police.
According to the data, nine rapes, two incidents of voyeurism and two sexual assaults were reported to civilian police between July 2022 and August 2023.
No details have been given as to whether the incidents involved recruits or staff at the college.
It comes after the college on Penny Pot Lane, which trains junior soldiers aged 16 and 17, was hit by allegations of abuse and bullying in 2021.
However, ministers defended the organisation and said it had a “much improved climate”.
Baroness Goldie, a Ministry of Defence minister, told the House of Lords in May this year that the college had taken steps to improve and that this was reflected by an Ofsted report in 2021.
However, the new figures raise questions over further allegations of sexual assault and abuse.
Jim Wyke, of the Child Rights International Network, which campaigns for the raising of the military age, said the government should look again at the recruitment age.
He said:
In response to the figure, a British Army spokesperson said:
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