Military police are investigating a report of an attempted sexual assault on a young female recruit at the Irish Naval Service based in Haulbowline, Co Cork, a spokesman said yesterday.
The woman said the man woke her as she slept in the female quarters on the base. She has made a formal complaint to authorities about the incident which happened late last month.
A Naval Service spokesman said an investigation had been launched by Defence Forces military police. It's the first such reported incident in the service since women cadets started training at the base in 1995, he said.
According to the spokesman, numbers on the base dropped from more than 400 during the day to fewer than 100 at night.
There were just 10 women of the 36 female recruits in the Naval Service in the female quarters on the night of the attack.
He stressed there were separate and secure quarters for female recruits and officer cadets. Personnel at the base were given a sound grounding in inter-personal relationships and knew the rules, he added. Meanwhile, gardai are investigating after a woman in her 30s reported she was raped on a green area between South Mall and the Grand Parade in Cork city centre at about 10.30 p.m. last Wednesday. The man ran away after being disturbed by passers-by. Gardai at Anglesea Street have appealed to any witnesses to contact them on 021-522000.