Army officers ‘let down’ soldier over sexual assault claim before she killed herself, court martial told

Two army officers “let down” a teenage soldier who went on to kill herself when they did not deal properly with a sexual assault allegation she made against a superior, a court martial has heard.

Jaysley Beck, 19, told Col Samantha Shepherd that she had been touched on the leg by a warrant officer during a social event at an adventure training exercise, the court was told.

But Shepherd allegedly misrepresented what Beck had told her when she reported the claim, falsely saying there had not been physical contact.

The second officer, Maj James Hook, failed to take the incident seriously and was sceptical of what Beck had reported, believing she wanted to leave the training package, the court heard.

Shepherd and Hook deny “conduct prejudicial to good order and service discipline”. Shepherd is accused of misreporting what she had been told by Beck while Hook allegedly did not treat information passed to him in a manner “consistent with its seriousness”.

At the start of the trial, the assistant judge advocate general, Edward Legard, said he expected the board in hearing the case – an RAF air commodore, navy captain and army colonel – almost certainly knew of the Beck case.

He told them she had taken her own life and there had been significant press interest but they should put anything they had heard about it to one side.

Legard also instructed them not to be influenced by anyone’s views – including their chain of command – on the subject of unacceptable sexual behaviour in the armed forces.

Cdr Paul Patterson, for the crown, said Beck was taking part in the training package in Hampshire in July 2021. Hook was running the exercise while Shepherd was the regimental colonel.

Following a social function, Beck was found distressed and sleeping in her car early in the morning by a colleague, L/Cpl Drew Tudor. She told him there had been an incident the night before with a warrant officer, Michael Webber, who was senior in rank to her.

Hook was alerted and Beck expressed concern over what would happen if she made a complaint. He gave her until noon to decide what she wanted to do.

The court was told he was sceptical as Beck was not enjoying the adventure package and he thought she may be wanting to leave.

Patterson said rather than empowering her, Hook could be seen as “leaning on her”. He said an issue for the board to consider was if Hook knew he was dealing with a potential sexual assault.

Shepherd was told of the incident later. She went for a walk with Beck, who told her Webber had touched her leg and tried to kiss her, the court heard.

Patterson said when she went to speak to an adjutant, whose role includes advising on discipline, about the incident, Shepherd was asked if there had been physical contact and allegedly replied that there had not been.

The prosecutor said that the colonel “edited the information” when she “should have told the truth”. He told the court it was the crown’s case that Shepherd deliberately tried to suppress the detail about touching, knowing that if she did report this it would go to service police.

Patterson said Beck told each of the officers enough to understand that she may been sexually assaulted and she had been let down by them.

Tudor became emotional as he gave his evidence. He said when he found Beck in her car she was distressed and told him that Webber had “tried something on with her”. He said he could not now remember Beck’s exact words but added: “I was concerned enough to want to report it.”

The adjutant, Maj Mae King, told the court Shepherd had told her Webber had attempted to kiss Beck but Beck had leant away. She said: “My understanding was no physical contact had been made.”

King said incidents such as this were “relatively normal” and it was not the most serious she had dealt with.

King told the court that Webber’s wife worked in the same building as her and there was concern about her welfare. She said she did not know if the wife knew about what had allegedly happened during the adventure package. “It wasn’t our business to tell her,” King said.

Beck’s mother, Leighann McCready, from Cumbria, sat in the front row of the public gallery, holding her daughter’s army cap.