Porn drove me out of Navy, says chaplain*

By Richard Savill
(Filed: 14/09/2006)

UK - A Royal Navy chaplain quit the service after being told to turn a
blind eye to pornography on board two warships, an employment tribunal
was told yesterday.

The Rev Mark Sharpe, 37, was so horrified at the amount of pornography
below decks that he left training after only a few weeks.

Mr Sharpe has brought a claim against the Ministry of Defence alleging
sexual harassment, and discrimination on the grounds of religious
affiliation.

Mr Sharpe was a policeman for more than 10 years before becoming a
minister. He worked as a clergyman in York before joining the Navy as a
trainee chaplain two years ago. The tribunal in Exeter, Devon, heard
that he left the assault ship Albion after only two weeks of his sea
training and complained that he had been driven out by pornography.

He was persuaded to stay in the Navy and posted to the destroyer
Manchester. But again he said he could not cope with the pornography and
left after 10 days.

Mr Sharpe, from Tenbury, Worcs, who has been married for almost 20
years, asked permission to wear his clerical collar on board so as to
warn shipmates that he did not want to see their pictures and films. He
said he found explicit pictures of women on his bunk aboard Albion and
observed messmates watching hardcore DVDs at 7am.

Mr Sharpe said he was prevented from obeying  his oath of ordination by
conditions aboard the warships.

He said special arrangements were made for Muslim sailors to say prayers
five times a day but none were made for him even though he was a trainee
chaplain.

He said messmates, who knew him as Bish, invited him to a sex club
during a run ashore in Fort Lauderdale and suggested he took part in
naked drinking games. He said: "I was in the obscene publications squad
in the police but this pornography was stuff I had not seen before. On
one occasion I found an officer cadet sitting on my bed looking at it
and on another I found a library of pornography on my bunk.

" I was asking myself if it was a problem I had to manage or whether I
should stand up to it. I did not want to alienate myself but it was
horrible. Some of it was extreme.

"I saw a pornographic DVD being played on a laptop and I walked away and
indicated I was not comfortable with it.

"I expected people to have pictures of girls but was not aware this
level of hardcore pornography would be a routine part of life.

"When I raised it with the others they said it was harmless fun. I was
expected to take it as something that comes with putting on a blue suit.
On board Manchester I was asked personal questions about sexual
positions, which I blanked completely.

"I was asked about celibacy and about whether I preferred the missionary
position. These were teasing points.

"I had my bottom smacked but when I looked around there was no one there."

He said he was discouraged from raising his concerns about pornography
when he left Albion.

He said: "I met the commodore in charge of the training regime and he
was adamant and aggressive that it was not my place to comment on such
issues. He made it clear that if I wanted to continue training I should
put up and shut up.

"I was afraid of losing my career.

"The consensus was that if I wanted to carry on there were some things I
had to learn to live with."

The Navy has admitted sexual harassment but denies discrimination.

The Navy denies condoning pornography aboard its ships and says it was
not the true reason for Mr Sharpe leaving the service.

It says he was missing his wife and home and only raised his complaints
about pornography when he had decided to leave the service.

The hearing continues.