Two British army officers face criminal charges related to the handling of the sexual assault case involving Jaysley Beck, a teenage soldier who later died by suicide.
Jaysley Beck Case: Officers Charged
Beck, a Royal Artillery Gunner, was 19 when she was assaulted during a training exercise in Hampshire in July 2021. She took her own life five months later.
Former sergeant major Michael Webber, who has since left the army, was sentenced in October to six months in prison for sexually assaulting Beck. He engaged Beck in a drinking game before touching her thigh and attempting to kiss her. Beck pushed him away and spent the night locked in her car before reporting the incident to her superiors.
On Friday, the Ministry of Defence announced that the Service Prosecuting Authority – the military equivalent of the Crown Prosecution Service – had charged two officers with offences relating to harming military discipline. Maj James Hook and Col Samantha Shepherd, both of whom testified at the inquest into Beck’s death, will face court martial on the charges.
The MoD stated, “Following an investigation by the Defence Serious Crime Command, we can confirm two individuals have been charged with offences under section 19 of the Armed Forces Act (conduct prejudicial to good order and service discipline).” The Ministry added that it would be inappropriate to comment further due to ongoing legal proceedings.
Family’s Response
Leighann McCready, Beck’s mother, expressed relief that charges had been filed but voiced continued dissatisfaction with aspects of the army’s response. She stated the family had written to the Chief of the General Staff after the inquest, highlighting “multiple army failings in the chain of command that had led to her death.”
“As a consequence of that, he directed that our concerns be referred to the service police and we are relieved finally to have reached this stage today where two individuals have been charged,” McCready said. However, she added, “We remain very unhappy with other parts of the army’s response.”
McCready also criticized the lack of progress on a promised independent complaints process for service personnel, particularly young women. “We were promised a new independent complaints process…we have heard nothing further about this and as far as we can tell, young women are still not benefiting from it, almost a year on from the inquest and more than four years on from Jaysley’s death.”
She expressed frustration with the need to continually push for change within the army, describing it as “completely exhausting.”
The incident was not initially reported to police, and Webber wrote a letter of apology to Beck. He was later promoted.
Since Beck’s death, the MoD has established a serious crime command and a violence against women and girls taskforce. It has also agreed in principle to remove the handling of serious complaints from individual services.
Discover more from Archyworldys
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
