Royal Navy sailor who met Princess Anne raped teenager after ‘preying on drunk women’ in nightclub

A Royal Navy sailor who once met Princess Anne at a training centre in Cornwall raped a teenager after “preying on single, drunken women”, a court heard.

Sebastine Kava Liliu spent two-and-a-half hours “observing the crime scene” to identify vulnerable women in the club before approaching his “very drunk” victim, taking her out of the club and luring her into nearby bushes, the court was told. The 24-year-old, the first Solomon Islander to join the navy and a member of the logistics department at the time, then left the scene but returned shortly afterwards to retrieve his cap, the court heard.

The attack occurred at around 1:15 a.m. on February 11 near the Astoria nightclub in Portsmouth. Video footage from the scene shows the victim staggering to his feet while Kava Liliu took a taxi back to his ship.

He admitted the rape at Portsmouth Crown Court last week, Mail Online reported. Judge Michael Bowes KC adjourned sentencing until next month.

Prosecutor Rob Harding told the court: “It appears that the defendant was out that evening and wanted to isolate an intoxicated woman for his own sexual gratification. The evidence is his predatory behaviour and actions which constitute the offence. The victim was also out for pleasure and drinking alcohol and was not in a healthy state.”

The prosecutor said Kava Liliu was alone and “preying on lonely, drunk women” when he approached the “isolated” and “vulnerable” victim after noticing “the state” she was in. Mr Harding said: “To put it simply, he then dragged her into nearby bushes and raped her.”

In her victim impact statement, the woman said she had lost her “dignity and privacy,” adding that she still suffers from flashbacks of the attack. She said: “The physical effects are easy to describe. I no longer feel comfortable in my own skin. I lost my dignity and privacy that day.”

“The psychological impact will be hard to comprehend – being out there having fun and losing that when you’re at your most vulnerable. Thankfully I have people around me who love me and care about me and help me, but it’s still difficult.” Speaking to her rapist, she added: “You may have taken away my trust in the world and my sense of dignity, but you didn’t take away my voice.”

Last year, Kava Liliu met Princess Anne when the senior royal visited HMS Raleigh. She was photographed speaking to him during the visit.

A Royal Navy spokesman said: “The Royal Navy places great importance on ensuring that its personnel maintain the highest possible standards of conduct at all times and any reports of behaviour which falls short of Royal Navy standards are taken very seriously. While the legal proceedings are ongoing, it would not be appropriate to comment further.”