Two senior army officers have denied charges brought following the death of teenage soldier Jaysley Beck, who took her own life after she was sexually assaulted by a superior.
Colonel Samantha Shepherd and Major James Hook appeared at the Military Court Centre at Catterick Garrison, in North Yorkshire, by video-link on Wednesday, where they both denied “conduct prejudicial to good order and service discipline”.
The allegations they face relate to how they handled information before Beck was found dead in her barracks in Larkhill Camp, Wiltshire, in 2021.
Former senior non-commissioned officer Michael Webber, 43, was jailed for six months by a military court in 2025 after pleading guilty to sexually assaulting Beck five months before her death.
An inquest into the 19-year-old’s death found the incident and the army’s failure to take appropriate action “more than minimally” contributed to her death.
On Wednesday, Shepherd pleaded not guilty to two charges of conduct prejudicial to good order and service discipline.
The first alleges 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 alleges that “on a date in July 2021, you misreported what you had been told by Jaysley Beck” to another person.
Hook pleaded not guilty to one charge of the same offence.
This alleges that “on 13 July 2021 you did not treat information passed to yourself by Jaysley Beck in a manner consistent with its seriousness”.
Judge Adjutant General Alan Large told the defendants they will go on trial 14 September, but it has not yet been decided whether the five-day hearing will be at Catterick or at Bulford Camp in Wiltshire.
A further case management hearing will be held on 23 June.
A number of Beck’s family were on the link listening to the 20-minute hearing.
The judge was told Hook is serving with 29 Commando Regiment Royal Artillery and Shepherd, who appeared from the United States, is serving with the British defence staff in the country.
Beck’s mother, Leighann McCready, from Cumbria, said in January that the family had written to the Chief of the General Staff, General Sir Roly Walker, after the inquest with their concerns about “multiple army failings in the chain of command” that led to her death.
She said it was not appropriate to comment further on the charges faced by the two officers, but she added that “we remain very unhappy with other parts of the army’s response”, especially about a promised new, independent complaints process for service people.
Both an inquest into Beck’s death and the court martial of Webber heard he had engaged the young recruit in a drinking game before touching her thigh and trying to kiss her.
Beck pushed Webber – then a battery sergeant major in the Royal Artillery – away and spent the night locked in her car before making a complaint to her superiors in the morning.
But the incident was not reported to police and Webber wrote a letter of apology to Beck.
He was later promoted.
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