Four young women, all aged 17 at the time, have told the BBC they were sexually assaulted and harassed while attending the Army Foundation College (AFC) in Harrogate, North Yorkshire, over the past five years. According to Ministry of Defence data, there were 176 complaints of inappropriate sexual behaviour between January 2018 and June 2025, with 144 allegations made against junior soldiers. One woman, identified as Tilly, reported being raped by multiple fellow soldiers, an incident that lasted hours and left her feeling like "a piece of meat". North Yorkshire Police received 16 reports of sexual offences linked to the college in the year to June, but no information was provided on whether they led to prosecutions.
Written by the local model on 2026-08-21,
using this article's own text rather than the other coverage of the
same event (that is the story summary below).
Why this leaning score
The use of phrases such as 'a culture of misogyny and sexual violence' and descriptions of the women's experiences in detail, without apparent sensationalism or leading questions, suggests a neutral to slightly left-leaning approach. The Army spokesperson's quotes are included, but framed in a way that emphasizes the seriousness and unacceptability of the incidents.
Written under an earlier scoring contract, which gave a paragraph
rather than checkable quotes. Re-analysing this article replaces it.
Leaning score -0.60 for article 530 · logged 2026-08-06
- 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.
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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.
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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.
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who → have → time
These reports are "extremely distressing and serious", said an Army spokesperson in a statement.
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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.
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Those reported offences include allegations of exposure, voyeurism and sexual assault.
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offences → report → exposure
No information was provided as to whether they had led to prosecutions.
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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.
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total → make → data
"Unacceptable and criminal behaviour has absolutely no place in our Armed Forces," said the Army spokesperson.
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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.
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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.
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it → receive → recruits
We have changed all the women's names to protect their identities.
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We → change → identities
'I felt like a piece of meat'
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I → feel → meat
Ever since she was a small child, Tilly had always wanted to be a soldier.
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Tilly → want → ?
"I liked the idea of being challenged and had always admired women in non-traditional roles," she says.
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she → like → roles
But she says her dream was shattered when she was raped at AFC by several fellow soldiers.
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she → say → soldiers
"They were like 'do you want to come into the room?'
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you → want → room
And me being a naive 17-year-old girl was like 'yeah fine'," Tilly recalls.
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Tilly → recall → ?
"They started taking my clothes off and then this led to them doing stuff I didn't consent to.
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I → start → stuff
They touched me in places, made inappropriate comments, calling me a thing rather than a girl.
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"And then I was raped… by multiple junior soldiers, same age as me.
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It went on for hours.
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I felt like a piece of meat."
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I → feel → meat
Tilly left the Army two weeks after the attack.
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Tilly → leave → attack
I spoke to my mum and she was like you need to leave," she says.
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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."
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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.
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Service → understand → investigation
Tilly reached a financial settlement with North Yorkshire Police - with no admission of liability from the force.
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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.
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we → speak → identities
A second woman, Monica, says a fellow soldier trapped her in a room and attacked her.
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soldier → say → her
"He stood against the door so I couldn't get out.
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I → stand → door
He then pushed himself up against me, started kissing my face and touching me all over.
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He sexually assaulted me," she says.
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she → assault → me
"I managed to push him off.
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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.
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she → receive → what
The third woman's story was told to us by her mother, Cheryl.
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story → tell → mother
Her daughter, Amy, was sexually assaulted, she says, and had to navigate almost daily sexual harassment during her training.
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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".
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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.
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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.
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attitudes → speak → teenagers
…and 39 more, not listed.
