article_snippet.sent: Edwin Mee denies a series of sex offences which complainants claim took place when Edwin Mee worked as as an the Army recruitment sergeant in Croydon .
article_snippet.sent: Edwin Mee, 46, is said to have abused An Army recruitment sergeant who served with the Special Forces in Iraq position of power to abuse or rape 11 alleged victims while working at an Army careers centre in Croydon, south London.
article_snippet.sent: Taking to the witness box to give evidence at London's Southwark Crown Court today, Mee told jurors about his military career, and firmly denied the allegations.
article_snippet.sent: Mee joined the army aged 24, and went on to serve tours of duty in Iraq - where he was attached to the Special Forces, and Afghanistan - where he was attached to a parachute regiment - and Bosnia, jurors heard.
article_snippet.sent: The court was told that Mee was medically discharged from the Army in April 2014.
article_snippet.sent: Lisa Wilding QC, defending Mee, asked him how him felt about him time in the Army.
article_snippet.sent: However, giving evidence, Mee conceded that him would often swear in the recruitment office and shouted at recruits saying things like 'I'll rip your head off and s
article_snippet.sent: Mee said that the Army, from which he is suspended, is 'he life' and insisted the offences 'never happened' he further admitted that he would often make comments to 'threaten or intimidate' recruits because the Army is not a nine to five job and 'threaten or intimidate' recruits needed to understand that 'threaten or intimidate' recruits could lose 'threaten or intimidate' recruits lives.
article_snippet.sent: But Mee also told jurors that he was 'protective' over he candidates and felt that he was in the best position to help his candidates, occasionally 'cutting corners' to help his candidates progress.
article_snippet.sent: The court has heard that Mee targeted alleged victims by staying late at the careers centre to conduct after-hours interviews with applicants - in which he 'gauged applicants - vulnerability'.
article_snippet.sent: Mee was working at an Army careers centre in Croydon, south London, when the alleged incidents took place .
article_snippet.sent: Southwark Crown Court heard Mee was protective of he recruits and 'cut corners' to help his recruits in his recruits careers .