A young navy technician says he did not report allegedly being raped and assaulted on the frigate HMAS Newcastle for more than a year because he was "embarrassed" and afraid of "repercussions".
A Sydney court martial has heard that in August 2011, the 24-year-old able seaman was on his last night aboard the vessel off Western Australia when a fellow technician allegedly grabbed him from behind and carried him into the ship's third aft recreational area.
There, the youth was allegedly hog-tied, smeared between the buttocks with a concoction of deep heat and vegemite, and sexually assaulted with a rubber chicken as up to 30 sailors looked on.
Two navy technicians, Able Seamen Mitchell Summers and Lee Walter, are being court-martialled on charges of sex without consent, committing an act of indecency and forcible confinement.
Two other sailors, Able Seamen Rohan Martin Angre and Michael Daniel Thompson, have pleaded guilty to forcible confinement, committing an act of indecency and assault.
On Tuesday, the alleged victim told the court that after the sexual assault, he was carried, still hog-tied, into the shower area.
"Able Seaman [Rohan] Angre started pouring a dark coloured liquid over the top of my head which subsequently got into my eyes," he said.
"I started screaming 'my eyes! my eyes! they're burning!'"
"I thought I was going to be blinded."
Able Seaman Walter allegedly mimicked the young man's cries.
The alleged victim said that after the attack he was cut loose and left sitting on the floor of the shower with cold water running over him.
He said that the next day, when a chief petty officer noticed the red blistering on his face from the liquid that had been poured on him and asked whether he wanted to report anything, he said "I'll be fine".
"At that point in time I was rather embarrassed, and I thought what with the culture inside [the navy] ..." he said.
"I was afraid that if I spoke up there would be repercussions."
The young sailor said that he did not talk to anyone about the incident, until revelations about allegations of sexual assault aboard HMAS Ballarat were brought to light.
At this point, having left HMAS Newcastle, he allegedly spoke to a fellow sailor about what had happened.
This sailor alerted a superior officer and an investigation began.
The court martial continues.
