🔗 Share this article

Family Snapshot

A former military sergeant has been sentenced to 180 days in jail for committing sexual assault against a young gunner who afterwards died by suicide.

Sergeant Major Michael Webber, 43, pinned down service member the young woman and sought to make physical contact in the summer of 2021. She was found dead half a year following in her barracks at the Wiltshire base.

The convicted individual, who was judged at the Court Martial Centre in Wiltshire earlier, will be sent to a civilian prison and listed on sex offenders register for multiple years.

The family matriarch Ms. Mcready remarked: "The assault, and how the armed forces neglected to defend our daughter subsequently, cost Jaysley her life."

Army Statement

The Army stated it failed to hear the soldier, who was hailing from Cumbria's Oxen Park, when she disclosed the incident and has apologised for its management of her complaint.

Subsequent to a formal inquiry regarding Gunner Beck's death, the defendant admitted to the offense of unwanted sexual advance in September.

The mother stated her young woman ought to have been alongside her relatives in court now, "to see the man she reported brought to justice for what he did."

"Instead, we are present without her, facing perpetual grief that no loved ones should be forced to endure," she continued.

"She adhered to protocols, but the accountable parties neglected their responsibilities. Those failures broke our young woman totally."

Press Association

Legal Hearing

The judicial body was advised that the incident happened during an military training at Thorney Island, near Emsworth in Hampshire, in summer 2021.

Webber, a senior officer at the time, attempted physical intimacy towards Gunner Beck subsequent to an alcohol consumption while on duty for a military exercise.

Gunner Beck stated Webber said he had been "seeking a chance for them to be by themselves" before taking hold of her, restraining her, and making unwanted advances.

She filed a complaint against the accused subsequent to the assault, despite attempts by superiors to persuade her not to.

An inquest into her suicide found the Army's handling of the complaint played "a significant contributing factor in her demise."

Mother's Testimony

In a statement presented to the judicial body during proceedings, the mother, stated: "She had only become a teenager and will eternally stay a youth full of life and laughter."

"She had faith people to safeguard her and after what he did, the faith was gone. She was extremely troubled and fearful of the accused."

"I witnessed the difference personally. She felt vulnerable and abandoned. That incident destroyed her faith in the system that was supposed to safeguard her."

Sentencing Remarks

While delivering judgment, The judicial officer the judge said: "We must evaluate whether it can be dealt with in another way. We are not convinced it can."

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

He told Webber: "The victim had the bravery and wisdom to demand you halt and instructed you to leave the area, but you carried on to the degree she felt she wouldn't be safe from you even when she returned to her own accommodation."

He added: "The next morning, she reported the incident to her family, her companions and her military superiors."

"Following the report, the command decided to deal with you with light disciplinary measures."

"You underwent questioning and you acknowledged your conduct had been inappropriate. You composed a written apology."

"Your military service continued completely unaffected and you were subsequently advanced to higher rank."

Further Details

At the investigation into Gunner Beck's death, the coroner said military leadership pressured her to drop the allegations, and merely disclosed it to a superior officers "when the cat was already out of the bag."

At the period, the accused was given a "minor administrative action interview" with no further consequences.

The inquest was additionally informed that only a short time after the assault Gunner Beck had additionally been subjected to "continuous bullying" by another soldier.

Another soldier, her line manager, sent her numerous SMS communications declaring attachments for her, in addition to a 15-page "personal account" describing his "imagined scenarios."

Personal collection

Official Statement

The Army expressed it offered its "heartfelt apologies" to Gunner Beck and her relatives.

"We continue to be deeply apologetic for the failings that were identified at the formal investigation in winter."

"{The end of|The conclusion of|The completion