Two Senior Officers to Face Court Martial over Handling of Teenage Soldier’s Assault Complaint

Two serving Army officers are set to face a court-martial over how they handled a teenage soldier’s sexual assault complaint before she took her own life.

Jaysley Beck, 19, was found dead at Larkhill Camp in Wiltshire on December 15, 2021. In the months before her death, she had raised concerns about the behaviour of a male colleague while on a training exercise.

An inquest heard that the young gunner had reported former Battery Sergeant Major Michael Webber after an incident at Thorney Island near Emsworth in Hampshire in July 2021. During the exercise, Webber pinned her down and tried to kiss her. He was jailed for six months for sexual assault in October, after the inquest concluded he had played “more than a minimal contributory part into her death”.

The Army later said it was “profoundly sorry” for failings identified during the inquest. Now, the Service Prosecution Authority has charged two officers in Jaysley’s chain of command, Major James Hook and Colonel Samantha Shepherd. Both were aware of her complaint before she died.

Jaysley’s family had written to the head of the Army, General Sir Roly Walker, calling for further action against the officers. Colonel Shepherd, who was the senior officer present at Thorney Island, told the inquest she had initially viewed the allegation as “unwelcome attention, inappropriate contact” rather than sexual assault. She said: “I know now that it constitutes a sexual assault but I didn’t know it at the time.”

The coroner explained that Colonel Shepherd had walked with Jaysley, who told her that Webber had tried to kiss her and touched her leg. At the time, she had not appreciated that the allegation amounted to sexual assault, although she later accepted that it did. She did not doubt Jaysley’s account and considered the matter a serious breach of discipline.

Colonel Shepherd denied deliberately playing a part in a cover-up. The coroner said she had taken legal advice and followed it, but also noted inconsistencies in how the complaint was handled. Despite stating that a minor administrative action was inappropriate, she later directed that it be taken. This decision appeared to rely on an assumption that there had been no physical touching, even though earlier drafts had included the detail that Webber touched Jaysley’s leg.

Major Hook, who organised the training exercise, also gave evidence to the inquest. He admitted having “suspicions” that Jaysley may have made up the assault as an excuse to leave the course. He said she told him Webber had made “a pass” at her and used the words “I’ve been waiting for this moment and I’ve seen the way you’ve been looking at me”.

He defended his decision not to begin a disciplinary investigation immediately and denied trying to protect Webber. The inquest heard that Jaysley spoke to Major Hook the day after the assault. He asked what outcome she wanted, and she said she did not want anything bad to happen to Webber or to harm his career.

Assistant coroner Nicholas Rheinberg said Major Hook struggled to reconcile her complaint with her wish for no action to be taken. He believed she did not want to be on the course and pointed to the lack of witnesses and the potential impact on Webber’s career. He suspected the allegation was an excuse to avoid completing the training.

In a contemporaneous WhatsApp message, Jaysley recorded that Major Hook reminded her that the course cost money, she was in the British Army, and she was paid to do it. Friends later said she felt he had accused her of lying.

The coroner concluded that Major Hook did not pass on Jayles’ allegations until much later and criticised his failure to investigate further.

In a statement, the Ministry of Defence confirmed that two individuals had been charged under Section 19 of the Armed Forces Act for conduct prejudicial to good order and service discipline, adding that it would be inappropriate to comment further while proceedings are ongoing.

Jaysley’s mother, Leighann McCready, said the family was relieved charges had finally been brought but remained “very unhappy” with other aspects of the Army’s response. She said the promised independent complaints process had yet to materialise, adding: “We feel constantly as though we have to push the Army to change and it is completely exhausting.”

Last year, armed forces minister Al Carns described the case as “a horrendous failing of the system” and said changes were being made so no woman would ever feel alone again in defence.