Firefighters ‘shoved sausage up recruit’s bum’ during hazing ritual, court hears
Two firefighters have denied indecent assault charges, over an initiation ritual in which a sausage was allegedly shoved up a recruit’s bum.
Essex firefighters Anthony Benham and Ian Maguire appeared in Basildon Crown Court this week, denying allegations of four counts of indecent assault and 10 counts of false imprisonment, dating from 1988 to 1997.
The court heard that new recruits to Green Watch at Tilbury station in Essex were subjected to “physical and indecent abuse” from seasoned officers during the period, as part of initiation rituals.
The jury also heard victims’ claims that they were bent over a gym horse and sodomised with a sausage, and tied to a stretcher and urinated on. Another man told the court he had muscle relaxant rubbed over his genitals.
According to the Mirror, prosecutor Stephen Rose told the court: “Both of these defendants took advantage of that culture of practical jokes and intimidation to engage and indulge in acts of indecent degradation to new recruits.
“This occurred in a climate of fear in which none of these young recruits felt able to challenge the senior firefighters on that watch.
“It would be obvious to both defendants throughout that none of these young men were consenting to any of these incidents of restraint or indecency.”
Both have pleaded not guilty, and deny wrongdoing.
The station closed in 1997, and neither man currently works in the fire service.
The trial continues.
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