Two officers face court martial over handling of Jaysley Beck sexual assault case

Two British Army officers have been charged over the handling of a case of sexual assault against teenage soldier Jaysley Beck, who later took her own life.

Gunner Beck, 19, was found hanged in her barracks in Larkhill Camp, Wiltshire, in 2021 after her allegations against a former sergeant were not taken seriously.

Former Battery sergeant Michael Webber, 43, was jailed for six months by a military court last year after pleading guilty to sexually assaulting Gunner Beck

An earlier inquest found that the incident and the Army’s failure to take appropriate action ‘more than minimally’ contributed to her death.

It is understood Major James Hook and Colonel Samantha Shepherd will face a court martial over their actions relating to Gunner Beck’s case.

Webber had engaged Gunner Beck in a drinking game before touching her thigh and trying to kiss her.

Gunner Beck pushed Webber away and spent the night locked in her car before making a complaint to her superiors in the morning.

But it was dealt with as a minor incident because a ‘miscommunication’ led to the allegation about him trying to touch her leg being left out of the complaint that was passed up the chain of command, the inquest heard.

The incident was not reported to police and Webber wrote a letter of apology to Gunner Beck.

He was later promoted.

A Ministry of defense spokesperson said on Friday: ‘Following an investigation by the defense Serious Crime Command, we can confirm two individuals have been charged with offenses under Section 19, Armed Forces Act (conduct prejudicial to good order and service discipline).

‘It would be inappropriate to comment further as legal proceedings are ongoing.’

Gunner Beck’s mum, Leighann McCready, said that ‘more than four years on from the loss of our daughter we are very relieved to have finally got to this point’, the BBC reports.

Since Gunner Beck’s death, the Ministry of defense has set up a serious crime command and launched a violence against women and girls taskforce, and more recently has agreed in principle to remove the handling of serious complaints from the individual services.

Al Carns, minister for the armed forces, said last year: ‘I think the Gunner Beck case was a horrendous failing of the system.

‘What I can tell you is in the last several years there’s been lots of changes – in the last year we’ve really made a proactive move to create the correct systems so no woman ever feels alone again in defense.’

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