Sandhurst cadet was victim of ‘gross sexual misconduct’ before she died, inquest hears

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A young female army officer cadet was the victim of “gross sexual misconduct” by senior officers before she was found dead in her room at the prestigious Sandhurst academy, an inquest has been told.

The body of Olivia Perks, 21, was discovered at the elite military training school in Berkshire on 6 February 2019. An earlier inquest hearing recorded her provisional cause of death as “asphyxia due to hanging”.

A pre-inquest review in Reading, Berkshire, was told on Friday that sexual misconduct allegedly perpetuated against her was “clearly” on Perks’s mind before she died.

Mike Rawlinson, representing Perks’s mother, Louise Townsend, said: “Her family are, of course, very concerned about sexual misconduct committed against her by senior military officers.

“It was clearly something on Olivia’s mind in her last few days. We would seek to put questions to witnesses that arise out of our concern there was gross sexual misconduct by senior officers towards her.”

Edward Pleeth, representing the Ministry of Defence, replied: “We entirely accept that questions of sexual relationships must be included within the scope of the inquest.”

Perks had made a “significant” attempt at taking her own life before she died during a Royal Engineers’ visit, and a “series of red flags” about her mental health had been raised, the hearing was told.

Lawyers representing two sergeants who are “interested parties” in the proceedings, named only as CSgt Griffith and SSgt Easingwood, who was a sergeant at the time, appeared at the hearing. The nature of their relationship to her was not disclosed.

Pleeth said one more person may become an interested party before the full hearing.

The coroner also ruled that the “management of Olivia’s alcohol consumption” would have to be considered within the scope of the full inquest, which will focus on three events in the run-up to Perks’s death: the Royal Engineers’ visit; a trip to Normandy; and the Falklands ball on 1 February 2019. A “pen portrait” of Perks will also be painted.

The full hearing will seek to establish her past medical history, previous self-harm, and how her suicide risk was managed, as well as the investigation into events after the charity ball, events on the day she died, including whether there was evidence of “intention”, and her cause of death.

Sexual misconduct and alcohol consumption emerged as issues during discussions of what lay within the scope of the inquest. Lawyers dealt with administrative matters during the rest of the hearing.

The assistant coroner for Berkshire, Alison McCormick, told the family she hoped to hold a “full, fair and fearless” inquest, which will sit for 15 days between 24 April and 26 May.

Perks’s mother attended court and her father, Ian Perks, appeared remotely. Another pre-inquest review will be held on a date in March still to be fixed.