Royal Navy sailors accused of gang raping woman in Canada are released on bail

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Four Royal Navy sailors are bailed following hearing Nova Scotia, Canada
Three sailors are from Hampshire, one is from Gloucestershire
They are charged with raping a 21-year-old woman at military base party
Men were in Canada playing a hockey tournament with Canadian forces

By Tom Leonard In Dartmouth, Nova Scotia, For Mailonline

Published: 09:34 EST, 20 April 2015 | Updated: 16:45 EST, 20 April 2015

Four Royal Navy sailors charged with the gang rape of a young woman at an alcohol-fuelled party at a Canadian barracks must stay in Nova Scotia until they have been tried.

The four men appeared in turn in a courtroom in Dartmouth, near Halifax, where they were given identical but unusual bail conditions that could see them having to live on a Canadian naval base for the next few years.

Bail was set at over £2,000 for each of them but they also agreed to surrender their passports and live at the nearby Stadacona naval base in Halifax.

Accused: Joshua Finbow, 23, a submarine engineer from Stockbridge, Hampshire, arrives at court today

Two of the accused, Simon Radford, 31, of Gosport, Hampshire and Craig Stoner, 24, from Stonehouse, Gloucestershire hid their faces as they were led to a provincial court in Dartmouth, Nova Scotia

Darren Smalley, 35, of Gosport, Hampshire, and his co-accused were ordered to surrender their passports as part of their bail conditions

In a deal agreed with the British government, they will also continue to work for the Royal Navy and draw their current pay.

It was not clear last night how they will keep themselves occupied thousands of miles from their shipmates and a representative from the British High Commission who was in court refused to elaborate.

The four – Joshua Finbow, 23, a submarine engineer, Craig Stoner, 24, Simon Radford, 31, and Darren Smalley, 35 – had been playing for the Royal Navy ice hockey team in a tournament at the Shearwater naval base just east of Halifax.

The alleged sexual assault, in which police sources say all four men had sexual intercourse with their victim, took place on April 10 after the sailors had returned to the barracks from a hockey game.

Sources say their victim, who is aged in her early 20s and lives in Halifax, had accompanied a friend who had been invited to attend the party by local Canadian servicemen.

Yesterday, all four men – three of them wearing black Royal Navy ice hockey team hoodies – looked relieved to be getting out of custody as they respectfully answered Judge John MacDougall’s questions.

Charged: Royal Navy sailors Joshua Finbow, 23, (left) and Simon Radford, 31, (right) appeared in court

Held: Craig Stoner, 24, (left) and Darren Smalley, 35, (right) are being held by military police in Canada

Four Royal Navy sailors charged with sexual assault in Canada

They all said they understood their bail conditions and Crown prosecutor Eric Taylor said outside court that the accused had not asked to be returned to the UK.

They were ordered to return to court on May 27 and given the names of seven people – the victim and six witnesses – who they were forbidden to contact.

They must not leave the province of Nova Scotia and cannot apply for new passports. They must remain employed by the navy and must not resign without the court’s permission.

The four, no longer trying to hide their faces, later filed out of the court building and were driven away together in a large white SUV to their new home on the close Stadacona base. They ignored a question over how they might plead in the case.

Commander Michael O’Sullivan, the air and naval advisor at the British High Commission, has spoken to the four and described the alleged offences as ‘serious’ but stressed they were as yet only allegations.