Two serving British army officers have been charged with criminal offences over their handling of a sexual assault case involving teenage soldier Jaysley Beck, who later took her own life. Major James Hook and Colonel Samantha Shepherd are set to face a court martial on charges under section 19 of the Armed Forces Act, which relates to conduct prejudicial to good order and service discipline.
Beck, a Royal Artillery gunner, was sexually assaulted by former sergeant major Michael Webber during a training exercise in Hampshire in July 2021, when she was 19. She died by suicide five months later. Webber, who has since left the army, was sentenced to six months in prison in October for the assault.
The Ministry of Defence confirmed the charges on Friday, following an investigation by the Defence Serious Crime Command. Both Hook and Shepherd gave evidence at the inquest into Beck's death. The MoD declined further comment, citing ongoing legal proceedings.
Beck's mother, Leighann McCready, expressed relief that charges had been brought but said the family remained "very unhappy" with parts of the army's response. She noted that despite promises of an independent complaints process for service personnel, particularly young women, little progress has been made. "We feel constantly as though we have to push the army to change and it is completely exhausting," she said.
Since Beck's death, the MoD has established a serious crime command and a violence against women and girls taskforce, and has agreed in principle to remove the handling of serious complaints from individual services. However, McCready criticised the lack of tangible improvements for young women in the armed forces.
