Two Army officers cleared over handling of soldier's sexual assault report
A UK military court has cleared two senior Army officers of misconduct charges linked to their handling of a sexual assault complaint by a teenage soldier who later took her own life.
A military court board at Catterick Garrison in North Yorkshire has cleared Maj James Hook and Col Samantha Shepherd of charges of conduct prejudicial to good order and service discipline, related to their handling of a sexual assault complaint from Gunner Jaysley Beck.
Beck, 19, from Cumbria, took her own life at Larkhill Camp in Wiltshire in December 2021, five months after former Battery Sgt Michael Webber pinned her down and sexually assaulted her during a Royal Artillery adventure training exercise on Thorney Island in Chichester Harbour.
The board, made up of an Air Commodore, a Royal Navy captain and an Army colonel, returned not guilty verdicts for both officers after a two-day hearing. Shepherd had already been cleared earlier in proceedings after the Assistant Judge Advocate General ruled there was insufficient evidence against her.
Shepherd's barrister said she was relieved by the decision but stressed the case was not about her, adding that her thoughts remained with Beck's family and that she had always believed and cared about Beck's complaint.
The court heard claims that Beck had been let down after telling Hook and Shepherd enough to understand she may have been sexually assaulted, and that the chain of command failed to properly handle the case. Both officers were charged earlier this year by the Service Prosecution Authority.
In October, Webber was jailed for six months for the sexual assault. Army leadership has previously said it was sorry for not listening to Beck when she first reported the assault and pledged to prevent similar failures happening again.
