A senior Army officer has been cleared of claims that she tried to conceal an alleged sexual assault involving a teenage soldier who later died by suicide.
Colonel Samantha Shepherd, the Royal Artillery’s regimental colonel, was formally acquitted on Wednesday during the second day of her court martial after prosecutors withdrew the case against her.
The allegation stemmed from a report made by 19-year-old Gunner Jaysley Beck after a social gathering held during a training exercise in July 2021.
Gunner Beck was discovered dead at her Wiltshire barracks five months later.
Col Shepherd had faced accusations that she intentionally suppressed a complaint that Warrant Officer Michael Webber, 43, had sexually touched Gunner Beck.
It had been claimed that she did not relay the complete account of the alleged assault to the regimental adjutant, who was responsible for discipline, in an effort to prevent a service police investigation into the regiment.
But after prosecution witnesses gave evidence on Tuesday at the Military Court Centre at Catterick Garrison in North Yorkshire, Commander Paul Patterson, appearing for the prosecution, told the court that the charge against Colonel Shepherd would be withdrawn.
Gunner Jaysley Beck, 19, was found dead at her barracks in Wiltshire in December 2021
Colonel Samantha Shepherd faced an allegation of conduct prejudicial to good order and service discipline under Section 19 of the Armed Forces Act 2006. She was cleared on Wednesday.
Judge Advocate Edward Legard then addressed the court martial board, made up of an Air Commodore, a Royal Navy captain and an Army colonel.
He said: ‘The Crown has concluded that there is insufficient evidence upon which you could safely and properly convict Colonel Shepherd of the charge that she faces.
‘At my direction I am going to invite you to formally return a verdict of not guilty against Colonel Shepherd.’
Col Shepherd was acquitted of conduct prejudicial to good order and discipline under the Armed Forces Act 2006 and was allowed to leave the court with her barrister.
Her co-defendant, Major James Hook, remains on trial facing the same charge.
Catterick Military Court in North Yorks has been told that Gunner Beck took her own life in December 2021 after the incident the previous July when Warrant Officer Webber tried to kiss her and touched her leg in a sexual manner.
Gunner Beck was found in her car early in the morning of July 13 2021 in an upset state after the incident at a social event during an adventure training exercise at Thorney Island in Hampshire.
She first told Major Hook, who was then a captain and in charge of the training course, what had happened to her, and the matter was then taken to Col Shepherd, the regimental colonel of the Royal Artillery at the time.
Cdr Patterson said the allegations made by Gunner Beck were not treated seriously enough.
He said: ‘The prosecution case is that she told each of them about an incident that had happened… and she told each of them enough to understand that she may have been sexually assaulted.’
In his opening statement, the prosecutor said that Warrant Officer Webber, Gunner Beck and Lance Corporal Drew Tudor were drinking together until the early hours of the morning of July 13.
Later that morning, Lance Corporal Tudor found Gunner Beck asleep in her car and she told him about what happened with Warrant Officer Webber.
Cdr Patterson said the lance corporal went to speak to Major Hook who got in the car and Gunner Beck repeated what she had said.
Cdr Patterson said Hook and Gunner Beck then went on a walk and the officer gave the teenager until noon to decide whether she wanted to make a complaint.
Cdr Patterson said of his actions: ‘Far from empowering her, this could be seen as leaning on her.’
It is alleged that he tried to discourage Gunner Beck from making a formal complaint by telling her that Webber would ‘almost certainly’ get into trouble.
The trial against Major Hook continues.