Jaysley Beck: Army officers deny charges over handling of sex assault
Two senior Army officers have pleaded not guilty to charges brought after the death of Jaysley Beck, a young soldier who committed suicide after being sexually assaulted by a superior officer.
Colonel Samantha Shepherd and Major James Hook appeared by video link at the Court Martial Center at Catterick Garrison in North Yorkshire on Wednesday and both denied “conduct prejudicial to good order and service discipline”.
The allegations they face relate to how they handled information before Beck was found dead in his barracks at Larkhill Camp in Wiltshire in 2021.
Former senior petty officer Michael Webber, 43, was sentenced to six months in prison by a military court in 2025 after admitting sexually assaulting Beck five months before her death.
The investigation into the death of the 19-year-old young man revealed that the incident was revealed and that the Army’s failure to take the necessary precautions contributed to his death in a “more than minimal” way.
On Wednesday Shepherd pleaded not guilty to two charges of conduct prejudicial to good order and service discipline.
The first alleges that “on and after July 13, 2021, you failed to report to service police an allegation of sexual assault in relation to a suspect in the regiment in which you were a regimental colonel.”
The second alleges that you “misrepresented to another person what Jaysley Beck told you during a date in July 2021.”
Hook pleaded not guilty to the charges against him for the same crime.
It is alleged here that you “failed to treat in a manner consistent with the seriousness of the information conveyed to you by Jaysley Beck on July 13, 2021.”
Judge Adjutant General Alan Large told the defendants they would appear for trial on September 14, but it has not yet been decided whether the five-day trial will be held in Catterick or Bulford Camp in Wiltshire.
A new case management hearing will be held on June 23.
Several members of Beck’s family were in touch and listening to the 20-minute hearing.
The judge was told that Hook served in the 29th Commando Regiment Royal Artillery and Shepherd, who emerged from the US, was also serving in the country with the British Defense Staff.
Beck’s mother, Leighann McCready, from Cumbria, said in January that the family wrote to Chief of Staff General Sir Roly Walker after the inquest, expressing concerns about “multiple failures in the army’s chain of command” that led to Beck’s death.
He said it was inappropriate to comment further on the charges facing the two officers, but added that “we are very unhappy with the response of other branches of the Army, particularly about the new, independent complaints process that has been promised for soldiers.”
Both the inquest into Beck’s death and Webber’s court-martial heard that he engaged the young recruit in a drinking game before touching her thigh and trying to kiss her.
Beck suspended Webber, then a battery sergeant major in the Royal Artillery, and spent the night locked in his car before complaining to his superiors in the morning.
However, the incident was not reported to the police and Webber wrote a letter of apology to Beck.
He was later promoted.
If you are experiencing feelings of distress or finding it difficult to cope, you can speak to Samaritans confidentially on 116 123 (UK and ROI), email jo@samaritans.org or visit . Samaritans Website to find details of your nearest branch.
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