Gunner Jaysley Beck 'let down' by senior officers before suicide, military court told

Two senior Army officers have gone on trial at a court martial, accused of failing to properly handle sexual assault allegations made by a 19-year-old soldier who later took her own life.

Gunner Jaysley Beck died in December 2021, five months after reporting an incident on an adventurous training exercise.

Colonel Samantha Shepherd and Major James Hook have been accused of "conduct prejudicial to good order and service discipline" at Catterick military court in North Yorkshire.

Commander Patterson, prosecuting, said Gnr Beck told both officers about behaviour towards her by Warrant Officer Michael Webber at a social event during the exercise.

He said: "The prosecution case is that she told each of them about an incident that had happened" and "she told each of them enough to understand that she may have been sexually assaulted".

The prosecutor said Maj Hook, who was a captain at the time and was running the exercise, did not treat the information he was given by Gnr Beck "in a manner consistent with its seriousness" and Col Shepherd "deliberately misreported what she had been told".

In his opening statement, the prosecutor said that WO Webber, Gnr Beck and Lance Corporal Drew Tudor were drinking together on a Royal Artillery adventure training exercise on Thorney Island, in Chichester Harbour, in July 2021.

The following morning LCpl Tudor found Gnr Beck asleep in her car and she told him about what happened with WO Webber.

Cdr Patterson said the lance corporal fetched Maj Hook who got in the car and Gnr Beck repeated what she had said.

The prosecutor said Maj Hook and Gnr Beck then went on a walk and the officer gave the teenager until noon to decide whether she wanted to make a complaint.

Cdr Patterson said of Hook's actions that "far from empowering her (Gnr Beck), this could be seen as leaning on her".

Colonel Samantha Shepherd is accused of later editing the account given to the unit's adjutant – the officer in charge of disciplinary matters in the regiment - falsely insisting there was no physical contact. 

Cdr Patterson said Colonel Shepherd discussed the incident later with Gnr Beck but then deliberately failed to pass on information to Captain Mae King – the adjutant at the 14 Regiment Royal Artillery, which is responsible for discipline – that the young soldier alleged WO Webber had touched her, or attempted to touch her.

Cdr Patterson said that Colonel Shepherd failed to mention the touching or attempted touching allegation even when questioned by the captain, saying there was "no contact".

The prosecutor said that the colonel "edited the information" when she "should have told the truth".

He said: "She knew this would go to the service police."

The court heard that omission meant the Royal Military Police concluded no crime had taken place, resulting in the matter being settled with just an apology letter from the warrant officer, to Gnr Beck.

Both Col Shepherd and Maj Hook deny charges of conduct prejudicial to good order and service discipline. 

The trial continues.