- Published
Warning: This article contains sexual language and details of sexual assault
Four young women have told the BBC they were sexually assaulted and harassed at an army training college for teenagers - with one saying she was raped by several fellow junior soldiers in an attack that lasted hours.
asserted
that → publish → attack
The women all attended the Army Foundation College (AFC) at Harrogate, North Yorkshire, over the past five years and say the incidents happened when they were aged 17.
asserted
they → attend → years
The college has a dangerous culture of misogyny and sexual violence, say the women, who are all speaking out for the first time.
asserted
who → have → time
These reports are "extremely distressing and serious", said an Army spokesperson in a statement.
asserted
spokesperson → say → statement
The BBC can also reveal that North Yorkshire Police received 16 reports of sexual offences linked to the college in the year to June, according to a Freedom of Information request.
uncertain
Police → reveal → request
Those reported offences include allegations of exposure, voyeurism and sexual assault.
asserted
offences → report → exposure
No information was provided as to whether they had led to prosecutions.
asserted
they → provide → prosecutions
A total of 176 complaints of inappropriate sexual behaviour at the college were made between January 2018 and June 2025, according to Ministry of Defence (MoD) data.
uncertain
total → make → data
"Unacceptable and criminal behaviour has absolutely no place in our Armed Forces," said the Army spokesperson.
asserted
spokesperson → have → Forces
"People join in the hope of having a fantastic career and any such reports are unacceptable and go completely against everything the Army stands for.
asserted
Army → join → everything
AFC is the largest military training establishment for under-19s in the UK and it receives all the Army's 16-year-old recruits.
asserted
it → receive → recruits
We have changed all the women's names to protect their identities.
asserted
We → change → identities
'I felt like a piece of meat'
asserted
I → feel → meat
Ever since she was a small child, Tilly had always wanted to be a soldier.
asserted
Tilly → want → ?
"I liked the idea of being challenged and had always admired women in non-traditional roles," she says.
asserted
she → like → roles
But she says her dream was shattered when she was raped at AFC by several fellow soldiers.
asserted
she → say → soldiers
"They were like 'do you want to come into the room?'
asserted
you → want → room
And me being a naive 17-year-old girl was like 'yeah fine'," Tilly recalls.
asserted
Tilly → recall → ?
"They started taking my clothes off and then this led to them doing stuff I didn't consent to.
asserted
I → start → stuff
They touched me in places, made inappropriate comments, calling me a thing rather than a girl.
asserted
They → touch → me
"And then I was raped… by multiple junior soldiers, same age as me.
asserted
I → rap → me
It went on for hours.
asserted
It → go → hours
I felt like a piece of meat."
asserted
I → feel → meat
Tilly left the Army two weeks after the attack.
asserted
Tilly → leave → attack
I spoke to my mum and she was like you need to leave," she says.
asserted
she → speak → mum
"I would have just been known as the girl that shagged loads of people - that's what I would have been known for the rest of my career, and that's not what happened."
asserted
what → know → career
The BBC understands Tilly reported the alleged rape to police but no charges were brought, partly because of what the Crown Prosecution Service later described as an "entirely inadequate" police investigation.
asserted
Service → understand → investigation
Tilly reached a financial settlement with North Yorkshire Police - with no admission of liability from the force.
asserted
Tilly → reach → force
Two of the other three women we spoke to also went to the police, but we are not reporting any details of the investigations to protect their identities.
asserted
we → speak → identities
A second woman, Monica, says a fellow soldier trapped her in a room and attacked her.
asserted
soldier → say → her
"He stood against the door so I couldn't get out.
asserted
I → stand → door
He then pushed himself up against me, started kissing my face and touching me all over.
asserted
He → push → me
He sexually assaulted me," she says.
asserted
she → assault → me
"I managed to push him off.
asserted
I → manage → him
Monica received an unrelated medical discharge from the college, but says this came as a relief after what she had been put through.
asserted
she → receive → what
The third woman's story was told to us by her mother, Cheryl.
asserted
story → tell → mother
Her daughter, Amy, was sexually assaulted, she says, and had to navigate almost daily sexual harassment during her training.
asserted
she → assault → training
Because the lock to Amy's room was not working, says Cheryl, "she found herself sleeping across the door to stop male soldiers coming in".
asserted
soldiers → work → door
My daughter was "sold a dream" when she was recruited to the college, she adds, but it turned out to be the complete opposite in reality.
asserted
it → sell → reality
The fourth woman we have spoken to describes how misogynistic attitudes and behaviour of AFC staff rubbed off on some of the male teenagers.
asserted
attitudes → speak → teenagers
…and 39 more, not listed.
The Aporia
