In 2021, Dennis Bowie, THEN a 49-year-old man, and Alice McElhinney, THEN a 33-year-old woman, both from Bexhill, were jailed after sexually abusing and grooming army cadets in their troop.
Lieutenant Dennis Bowie, of Orchard Road, Bexhill, and Sergeant Alice McElhinney, of Cornwall Road, Bexhill, were sentenced at Lewes Crown Court for offences against children under their supervision in the Bexhill army cadets. The court heard that both defendants used their positions as cadet leaders to groom young members, exchanging hundreds of explicit text messages detailing their abuse and perverted fantasies. Following an investigation by Sussex Police, phone records revealed Bowie had groped and kissed a 14-year-old girl after buying alcohol for cadets following a Remembrance Sunday event in 2018. Bowie admitted to sexual communication with a child, two counts of sexual activity with a child, and three counts of making indecent images of children. McElhinney was charged with sexual communication with a child and two counts of sexual activity with a child.
Judge Janet Waddicor sentenced Bowie to five years and two months in prison, and sentenced McElhinney to three years and nine months in prison.
Following their convictions, both Bowie and McElhinney were placed on the Sex Offenders Register for life and made subject to Sexual Harm Prevention Orders (SHPOs).
They also remain subject to statutory public protection notification requirements, licence conditions, and lifelong monitoring by law enforcement upon release.
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