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Army officers ‘let down’ soldier over sexual assault claim before she killed herself, court martial told
The prosecution says the officers failed to pass on Beck’s allegation properly, after she reported behavior that may have amounted to sexual assault.
- On Tuesday, Colonel Samantha Shepherd and Major James Hook went on trial at the Military Court Centre in Catterick, accused of 'conduct prejudicial to good order and service discipline' over their handling of a complaint by Gunner Jaysley Beck.
- The prosecution alleges the officers 'let down' Beck, who reported being sexually assaulted by Warrant Officer Michael Webber during a July 2021 training exercise at Thorney Island in Hampshire.
- Commander Paul Patterson, prosecuting, claimed Hook failed to treat the report 'in a manner consistent with its seriousness,' while Shepherd 'deliberately misreported what she had been told' to Captain Mae King.
- Both defendants pleaded not guilty to the charges; Webber was jailed for six months last year after admitting the offence against Beck, who died in December 2021.
- An inquest into Beck's death found the mishandling of her complaint played 'more than a minimal contributory part into her death,' prompting an apology from the Army.
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Senior officers 'let down' teenage soldier months before her suicide, court told
A teenage soldier was “let down” by two officers when she “told each of them enough to understand that she may have been sexually assaulted” five months before she took her own life, prosecutors have told a court martial.
Coverage Details
Total News Sources8
Leaning Left0Leaning Right3Center4Last UpdatedBias Distribution57% Center
Bias Distribution
- 57% of the sources are Center
57% Center
C 57%
R 43%
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