A MARRIED Royal Navy officer has been jailed for two-and-a-half years for sexually assaulting a woman who fell asleep on his bed after a night out while stationed in Oman.

Lieutenant Peter Coughlin, based at the Air Warfare Centre in Boscombe Down, was convicted following a court martial trial at Portsmouth Naval Base.

The assault happened in his accommodation at Musannah air base near Muscat on the morning of March 20, last year.

Judge Advocate Robert Hill said Coughlin acted in an “episode of pure madness” when he was “clutching at straws” in his belief that his victim was sexually attracted to him.

He said the defendant’s “fairly powerful attraction for the complainant” was not reciprocated.

Coughlin was also ordered to sign the sex offenders’ register for an indefinite period.

Judge Hill praised Coughlin’s wife for standing by her husband. He said: “It would be remiss of me if I didn’t pay respect to the position of your wife, also a serving officer.”

Lieutenant Colonel Will Peters, prosecuting, told the trial that the 34-year-old defendant and his victim had been drinking at a hotel before going back to the airbase.

The pair smoked a shisha pipe outside his cabin before Coughlin invited the woman back to his room.

Lt Col Peters described how Coughlin, training officer for 814 Naval Air Squadron, suggested putting a film but as he attempted to work his laptop, the woman fell asleep.

He said: “The next thing that happened was she woke up on Lt Coughlin’s bed, it was light outside. She awoke and appreciated what was going on, she instantly jumped off the bed, he immediately said sorry and she left.”

In an interview shown to the court, the victim described how she was “disgusted” at Coughlin’s actions, adding: “I felt physically sick.

“There was no form of consent in any manner.”

Lt Col Peters said the de- fendant claimed that the woman was awake at the time and consented. The defendant also claimed that she had been flirtatious earlier.