Key facts
- Colonel Samantha Shepherd was cleared by a court martial of conduct prejudicial to good order and service discipline.
- The court found insufficient evidence to convict Shepherd.
- Gunner Jaysley Beck, 19, died by suicide in December 2021.
- Beck had alleged a warrant officer, Michael Webber, made a pass at her during a training exercise in July 2021.
- Major James Hook, also accused in the case, denies the charges and his trial continues.
Colonel Samantha Shepherd has been cleared by a court martial of failing to properly handle allegations made by a teenage soldier who later died by suicide. Assistant Judge Advocate General Edward Legard told the court on Wednesday that the crown had concluded there was insufficient evidence upon which Shepherd could be safely convicted.
Shepherd was accused of “conduct prejudicial to good order and service discipline” over the case of 19-year-old Gunner Jaysley Beck, who took her own life in December 2021. The trial took place at the military court centre at Catterick Garrison, in North Yorkshire.
Shepherd was on trial alongside Maj James Hook. The prosecution had alleged that both officers “let down” Beck when she told them about an incident which happened on an adventure training exercise on Thorney Island, in Chichester Harbour, in July 2021. The court martial board was told Beck informed both officers about behaviour towards her by a warrant officer, Michael Webber, at a social event during the exercise. Cdr Paul Patterson, for the crown, had claimed the young soldier “told each of them enough to understand that she may have been sexually assaulted”.
The trial of Hook continues. On Wednesday, the board heard a summary of an interview he gave to military police. Hook said that Beck told him Webber had “made a pass at her” and it was possible she also said he tried to kiss her. He said he asked her if Webber had forced himself on her, or if she felt threatened by him, to which she replied: “No”. Hook said he knew Beck was not enjoying the adventure package and that she had complained about being there, which caused him to question the veracity of the allegation. He added that he thought everything he did was empowering and supporting her in making the right decision and that he had reported what Beck had said to others, including her immediate boss, after which the matter was taken away from him.