A naval officer accused of spanking a junior female sailor told her it was to teach her discipline and she should forget about it, a military court has heard.
The court martial in Canberra on Thursday heard a secret recording the sailor made of a conversation between her and Lieutenant Commander John Alan Jones.
Jones has pleaded not guilty to 23 charges relating to nine acts of indecency alleged to have occurred between February 1 and October 20, 2010.
Five of those incidents allegedly involved him smacking the sailor's bottom.
She recorded the conversation in November 2010 after talking to other members of the ship's crew about Jones' alleged behaviour.
In the recording, played to the court martial, the sailor, who cannot be identified, is heard telling Jones repeatedly she felt stressed about it.
Several times Jones said it was for her own benefit.
"All it was about was you being disciplined," the court martial heard him say in the recording.
"It wasn't so much that I wanted you naked, it was more a test to see how obedient and compliant you were going to be."
He told the sailor he thought she had developed and grown confidence.
At the end of the conversation, Jones can be heard telling the sailor: "Try and put it out of your mind and move forward.
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