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Family Snapshot

An ex- Army sergeant major has been sentenced to half a year in jail for sexually assaulting a 19-year-old soldier who afterwards ended her life.

Warrant Officer Michael Webber, in his forties, held down soldier Jaysley Beck and tried to kiss her in July 2021. She was found dead half a year following in her quarters at Larkhill, Wiltshire.

Webber, who was sentenced at the military court in Wiltshire earlier, will be placed in a correctional facility and on the sex offenders register for multiple years.

Gunner Beck's mother Ms. Mcready stated: "What he [Webber] did, and how the Army neglected to defend our young woman subsequently, cost Jaysley her life."

Military Response

The Army said it failed to hear the servicewoman, who was originally from Oxen Park in Cumbria, when she disclosed the incident and has said sorry for its handling of her report.

Following an inquest into the tragic death, the accused pleaded guilty to one count of physical violation in the autumn.

The grieving parent commented her young woman ought to have been alongside her relatives in legal proceedings this day, "to witness the individual she reported facing consequences for his actions."

"Conversely, we stand here missing her, enduring endless sorrow that no relatives should ever have to face," she added.

"She adhered to protocols, but the individuals in charge neglected their responsibilities. Those failures destroyed our daughter totally."

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Judicial Process

The court was advised that the violation happened during an adventure training exercise at the training location, near the Hampshire area, in July 2021.

The sergeant, a Sergeant Major at the period, made a sexual advance towards the servicewoman after an evening of drinking while on deployment for a field training.

The servicewoman testified Webber remarked he had been "waiting for a moment for them to be in private" before grabbing her leg, pinning her down, and attempting to force intimacy.

She made official allegations against Webber after the incident, notwithstanding efforts by commanding officers to persuade her not to.

An inquest into her suicide found the armed forces' response of the report played "a significant contributory part in her death."

Family Statement

In a statement presented to the judicial body previously, the mother, said: "The young woman had only become nineteen and will always be a youth full of energy and happiness."

"She believed people to defend her and after what he did, the trust was gone. She was very upset and scared of the sergeant."

"I witnessed the transformation personally. She felt powerless and betrayed. That violation destroyed her confidence in the set-up that was intended to safeguard her."

Judge's Statement

During sentencing, The presiding judge Alan Large stated: "We must evaluate whether it can be handled in another way. We do not consider it can."

"We conclude the seriousness of the offence means it can only be addressed by prison time."

He addressed the defendant: "The servicewoman had the courage and good sense to demand you halt and instructed you to go to bed, but you carried on to the degree she considered she wouldn't be safe from you even when she returned to her personal quarters."

He stated further: "The next morning, she reported the incident to her loved ones, her friends and her military superiors."

"Following the report, the military unit chose to address your behavior with light disciplinary measures."

"You underwent questioning and you admitted your behavior had been improper. You prepared a apology note."

"Your military service continued without interruption and you were in due course elevated to senior position."

Background Information

At the inquest into Gunner Beck's death, the coroner said a commanding officer pressured her to drop the allegations, and only reported it to a military leadership "after information had leaked."

At the time, the accused was given a "light disciplinary meeting" with no additional penalties.

The investigation was also told that only a short time after the incident Gunner Beck had also been subjected to "continuous bullying" by a separate individual.

Bombardier Ryan Mason, her superior officer, sent her more than 4,600 digital communications confessing his feelings for her, in addition to a fifteen-page "personal account" detailing his "imagined scenarios."

Personal collection

Institutional Response

The military leadership expressed it extended its "sincerest condolences" to Gunner Beck and her relatives.

"We remain sincerely regretful for the failings that were discovered at the formal investigation in winter."

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