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An ex- service sergeant has been sentenced to 180 days in custody for sexually assaulting a young gunner who subsequently took her own life.

Warrant Officer Michael Webber, in his forties, restrained Royal Artillery Gunner the young woman and tried to kiss her in July 2021. She was located without signs of life half a year following in her military accommodation at Larkhill military installation.

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

Gunner Beck's mother the mother commented: "What he [Webber] did, and how the armed forces did not safeguard our child afterwards, cost Jaysley her life."

Army Statement

The Army said it did not listen to Gunner Beck, who was hailing from Cumbria's Oxen Park, when she reported the assault and has apologised for its response to her allegations.

Subsequent to an investigation of Gunner Beck's death, the defendant admitted to one count of physical violation in September.

Ms McCready stated her child ought to have been present with her family in legal proceedings today, "to witness the individual she filed against held accountable for the assault."

"Instead, we appear without her, facing perpetual grief that no family should ever experience," she stated further.

"She followed the rules, but the accountable parties neglected their responsibilities. Such negligence destroyed our daughter totally."

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Legal Hearing

The court was informed that the incident occurred during an field exercise at the training location, near Hampshire's Emsworth, in July 2021.

The accused, a Sergeant Major at the time, attempted physical intimacy towards the soldier following an social gathering while on deployment for a training exercise.

The servicewoman stated the sergeant stated he had been "anticipating an opportunity for them to be alone" before making physical contact, restraining her, and trying to kiss her.

She reported the incident against the accused subsequent to the incident, regardless of pressure by superiors to convince her against reporting.

An inquest into her death found the military's management of the allegations played "more than a minimal role in her suicide."

Mother's Testimony

In a statement shared to the court earlier, the parent, stated: "The young woman had just turned nineteen and will always be a youth full of energy and happiness."

"She believed people to protect her and after what he did, the trust was lost. She was extremely troubled and terrified of the sergeant."

"I observed the transformation firsthand. She felt vulnerable and abandoned. That assault destroyed her faith in the system that was meant to protect her."

Sentencing Remarks

During sentencing, Judge Advocate General Alan Large said: "We must evaluate whether it can be addressed in a different manner. We do not believe it can."

"We conclude the severity of the offence means it can only be addressed by incarceration."

He spoke to the defendant: "The servicewoman had the courage and good sense to tell you to stop and told you to leave the area, but you carried on to the extent she considered she could not feel secure from you even when she returned to her own accommodation."

He stated further: "The following day, she disclosed the assault to her loved ones, her acquaintances and her military superiors."

"After the complaint, the command decided to handle the situation with minimal consequences."

"You underwent questioning and you accepted your behavior had been unacceptable. You prepared a written apology."

"Your career proceeded completely unaffected and you were subsequently advanced to higher rank."

Further Details

At the inquest into the tragic passing, the investigating officer said Capt James Hook pressured her to drop the allegations, and only reported it to a higher command "when the cat was already out of the bag."

At the period, the sergeant was given a "minimal consequence discussion" with no additional penalties.

The investigation was further advised that just weeks after the assault the soldier had further been facing "relentless harassment" by a different service member.

Another soldier, her line manager, sent her more than 4,600 SMS communications declaring attachments for her, in addition to a 15-page "personal account" detailing his "imagined scenarios."

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Official Statement

The Army said it provided its "heartfelt apologies" to the soldier and her family.

"We remain profoundly sorry for the failings that were noted at the official inquiry in early this year."

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