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Family Snapshot

An ex- service sergeant has been sentenced to six months in jail for committing sexual assault against a teenage servicewoman who later took her own life.

Warrant Officer Michael Webber, 43, pinned down Royal Artillery Gunner Jaysley Beck and attempted to kiss her in the summer of 2021. She was found dead five months later in her barracks at Larkhill military installation.

Webber, who was sentenced at the Court Martial Centre in Wiltshire previously, will be placed in a public jail and registered as sexual offenders list for seven years.

The family matriarch the mother remarked: "The assault, and how the Army neglected to defend our child afterwards, led to her death."

Military Response

The armed forces acknowledged it did not listen to the soldier, who was originally from Cumbria's Oxen Park, when she filed the complaint and has said sorry for its handling of her allegations.

After an investigation of Gunner Beck's death, the defendant admitted to one count of unwanted sexual advance in the autumn.

Ms McCready commented her daughter should have been present with her loved ones in the courtroom today, "to observe the person she accused held accountable for what he did."

"Instead, we are present in her absence, living a life sentence that no family should ever experience," she stated further.

"She adhered to protocols, but the accountable parties failed in their duties. Such negligence destroyed our daughter utterly."

PA

Court Proceedings

The judicial body was told that the incident took place during an military training at the exercise site, near Emsworth in Hampshire, in mid-2021.

The sergeant, a senior officer at the time, initiated inappropriate contact towards Gunner Beck subsequent to an social gathering while on deployment for a training exercise.

Gunner Beck claimed the accused remarked he had been "waiting for a moment for them to be by themselves" before taking hold of her, pinning her down, and attempting to force intimacy.

She reported the incident against the sergeant following the assault, regardless of pressure by commanding officers to discourage her.

A formal investigation into her passing found the Army's handling of the report played "an important role in her suicide."

Family Statement

In a statement presented to the judicial body during proceedings, the parent, stated: "She had just turned nineteen and will eternally stay a youth full of life and laughter."

"She believed individuals to defend her and following the assault, the faith was gone. She was deeply distressed and scared of the accused."

"I saw the transformation personally. She felt vulnerable and abandoned. That violation destroyed her trust in the structure that was intended to protect her."

Court Ruling

During sentencing, The judicial officer Alan Large stated: "We must evaluate whether it can be addressed in another way. We do not believe it can."

"We have determined the gravity of the violation means it can only be dealt with by immediate custody."

He spoke to the convicted individual: "She had the bravery and wisdom to tell you to stop and directed you to go to bed, but you carried on to the extent she felt she would remain in danger from you despite the fact she went back to her personal quarters."

He added: "The following day, she reported the incident to her family, her acquaintances and her chain of command."

"Subsequent to the allegations, the unit opted to deal with you with light disciplinary measures."

"You were subject to inquiry and you acknowledged your conduct had been inappropriate. You wrote a apology note."

"Your military service advanced unimpeded and you were subsequently advanced to Warrant Officer 1."

Additional Context

At the formal inquiry into Gunner Beck's death, the investigating officer said a commanding officer put pressure on her to drop the allegations, and merely disclosed it to a military leadership "after information had leaked."

At the period, Webber was given a "minor administrative action interview" with no serious repercussions.

The inquest was also told that only a short time after the assault the soldier had additionally been facing "persistent mistreatment" by another soldier.

Bombardier Ryan Mason, her line manager, transmitted to her more than 4,600 digital communications declaring attachments for her, along with a multi-page "personal account" describing his "imagined scenarios."

Family handout

Institutional Response

The military leadership stated it provided its "heartfelt apologies" to the servicewoman and her relatives.

"We continue to be profoundly sorry for the failings that were noted at the formal investigation in February."

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