Mother-in-law of married Army Sergeant who raped colleague after barracks party is reported to police for ‘harassing his victim’
The mother-in-law of a soldier facing prison for raping a colleague has been reported to police on charges of stalking her victim.
Sergeant Michael Ball, a father of two, faces years in prison after he was sentenced to rape a fellow soldier after he went on a marathon bender.
It has now emerged that Sandra Nicholls, 71, the grandmother of his children, apparently corresponded with family and friends of the woman he raped.
The messages were framed as support for his wife and her daughter Lydia Ball.
Nicholls, from Burscough, Ormskirk, is believed to be close to both her daughter and son-in-law and has posted photographs of them in happy family situations. She even changed her avatar to an image of Ball.
Married army sergeant Michael Ball, 37, faces prison after he raped a colleague on a military base.
Ball, pictured with his mother-in-law Sandra Nicholls (right), who was reported to police on suspicion of stalking the victim of her son-in-law.
So her world was rocked when it emerged that Ball had assaulted a junior officer after he had been drinking all day and night at a mini-festival party called Camp Mestival at their barracks in Abingdon, Oxford.
Even though Ball was convicted, his mother-in-law continued to openly support him online, writing in support of her daughter.
Messages sent via a Facebook account in the name of Sandra Nicholls questioning Ball’s guilt to close associates of the complainant, at least one of whom was unaware of the rape.
In one post she wrote: “My brother-in-law Michael was accused and found guilty of rape. We, Michael’s friends and family, know that this accusation is untrue.”
She then made disparaging remarks about the complainant.
The messages also include the victim’s name (which is illegal in cases of sex crimes) and her partner.
One states: “We know the accuser has been enjoying life since the ‘attack’ happened.”
When contacted about the episode, the grandmother initially denied being behind the messages and then admitted writing one of them.
She then said, “Michael is going to jail. We all know this. We sit back and let things take their course. And now we’ll let things take their course.
Sandra Nicholls pictured with her daughter Lydia, who is married to rapist soldier Michael Ball.
“You can do whatever you want with me.” I’m Michael’s mother-in-law. I love him very much. I don’t believe he’s guilty.
Ball was found guilty of rape and sexual assault in October after a five-day trial and cried when he was warned he faced jail time when sentenced at a later date.
Judge Advocate Edward Legrand has ruled that the rapist, an army sergeant, will be released on bail after sentencing to get his affairs in order. As part of his bail conditions, Ball must live at his mother-in-law’s address in Ormskirk and pay bail at a civilian police station.
A military court sitting in Catterick found Ball (pictured) guilty of rape and sexual assault. He was released on bail until February 2024.
The victim’s mother said: “This has pushed my daughter’s recovery back several months and increased the fear that Ball would be or was looking for her to harm her again.”
“As soon as we became aware of these reports, we tried to contact the military police, but no one was able to talk to us. Finally, 72 hours after attempting to report the messages and bail violations, the military police told us it was a civil matter. We therefore contacted Lancashire Police.”
In an earlier interview with MailOnline, Ball’s victim said she was left “afraid that he would look for me in the same way he did the day he raped me.”
Sergeant Ball was due to be sentenced this week for rape and sexual assault, although he was expected to be jailed.
The disgraced officer will instead spend Christmas with his children after his sentencing hearing, scheduled for December 6, is postponed.
Ball will now be sentenced in February 2024.
An Army spokesman said: “We can confirm that Sergeant Michael Ball was found guilty of rape and sexual assault at Catterick Military Center on 20 October 2023. Any questions from civilian police should be directed to them.”
Lancashire Police have been asked to comment.