Army officer found not guilty of failing to properly deal with Jaysley Beck abuse claims

Army officer found not guilty of failing to properly deal with Jaysley Beck abuse claims It was alleged that Colonel Samantha Shepherd did not report Gunner Beck’s assault to the police - Bookmark Army colonel Samantha Shepherd has been found not guilty of failing to properly deal with abuse allegations made by Gunner Jaysley Beck before her death. Gunner Beck, 19, took her own life in December 2021 after being sexually assaulted by a superior, former senior non-commissioned officer Michael Webber. The 43-year-old was jailed for six months by a military court in 2025 after pleading guilty to the assault. An inquest into Gunner Beck’s death found that the incident and the army’s failure to take appropriate action “more than minimally” contributed to her death. Colonel Shepherd faced a court martial at Catterick Garrison, which examined how she responded to Gunner Beck’s reporting of the sexual assault. She pleaded not guilty to two charges of conduct prejudicial to good order and service discipline. The first alleged that “on 13 July 2021, and thereafter, you did not report the commission of an alleged sexual assault to the service police in respect of a suspect within the regiment of which you were regimental colonel”. The second alleged that “on a date in July 2021, you misreported what you had been told by Jaysley Beck” to another person. This is a breaking news story. More follows. Subscribe here to get the latest updates from The Independent.