Shepherd was cleared of the charge first as “the Crown concluded that there [was] insufficient evidence” to “safely convict” her.
Her barrister, Derek Johashen, said: “Colonel Shepherd is relieved by the decision. But it’s not about her.”
Johashen added that his client fully understood the impact on Gunner Beck’s family.
He said: “Her thoughts remain with them, and always will.
“She always believed Gunner Beck, took her complaint seriously, listened to her and cared.”
In the case of Hook, Judge Advocate General Edward Legard said the evidence against him was “of an inconsistent, vague and tenuous nature”.
“Both the legal and evidential basis on which the Crown alleges prejudice is flawed and uncertain,” he told the court.
Legard added that Hook had no case to answer after prosecutors withdrew the case against his co-defendant.
