A court martial has heard that a teenage soldier, Royal Artillery Gunner Jaysley Beck, was "let down" by two senior officers after she reported a potential sexual assault. The allegations were made five months before Gunner Beck was found dead in her barracks in December 2021.
Maj James Hook and Col Samantha Shepherd are currently on trial at the Military Court Centre in Catterick, North Yorkshire, accused of conduct prejudicial to good order and service discipline. The Service Prosecution Authority charged them earlier this year over their handling of the case.
Prosecutor Commander Patterson stated that Hook, then a captain, did not treat Gunner Beck's report "in a manner consistent with its seriousness." Patterson also told the court that Shepherd "deliberately misreported what she had been told."
The court heard that former Battery Sgt Michael Webber sexually assaulted Gunner Beck in July 2021 during a team training event. Webber was jailed for six months last year after admitting the offence.
An inquest into Gunner Beck's death concluded that the handling of her complaint against Webber played "more than a minimal contributory part into her death," leading to an apology from the Army.