A former Royal Navy officer already serving a life sentence for two murders is currently on trial for historical sexual offences allegedly committed during the 1990s. Allan Grimson, aged 66, was convicted in 2001 for the killings of two young sailors, Sion Jenkins, 20, and Nicholas Wright, 18. He had invited the men to his flat, where he killed them with a baseball bat and later disposed of their bodies on two occasions exactly a year apart.

The current proceedings, taking place at Winchester Crown Court, relate to allegations of sexual assault involving three Royal Navy sailors and one 14-year-old boy, with offences said to have occurred between February 1994 and November 1999. Grimson faces 11 counts of indecent assault, one count of rape, and one count of taking indecent photographs of a child. He denies all charges.

During the trial, prosecutors revealed that Grimson told police in 1999, “If you’re going to rape somebody, to get away with it, kill it. And that’s the only way you can do that.” It was further reported that he admitted targeting “young males” within his Navy training classes to “befriend” and “dominate.” Grimson was a petty officer marine engineering mechanic and also served as an instructor at the Royal Navy Firefighting School in Portsmouth.

One of the alleged victims, a teenager aged 14 at the time, is accused of having been brought to Grimson’s Portsmouth flat weeks before one of the murders took place. The court heard that Grimson told police the boy was “lucky” to be alive, as he would have killed him had a friend not been asleep on a nearby sofa. Another victim, assaulted shortly after joining the Navy at 18 in 1997, reportedly attended a course taught by Grimson. According to the prosecution, Grimson assaulted this victim after inviting him and a friend back to his flat following a night out. The man “submitted, through fear,” it was said.

A fourth victim, who joined the Royal Navy in 1992 and also studied at the firefighting school, was allegedly assaulted at a relative’s home in the North East of England. This incident occurred after the victim had become heavily intoxicated during a night out and predates the murders.

Prosecutors indicated the trial is expected to last four weeks. Grimson remains in custody throughout the trial.