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Family Snapshot

An ex- service sergeant has been ordered to serve half a year in prison for sexually assaulting a 19-year-old soldier who later ended her life.

Warrant Officer Michael Webber, 43, pinned down soldier Jaysley Beck and tried to make physical contact in mid-2021. She was found dead 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 transferred to a civilian prison and on the sex offenders register for a seven-year period.

The victim's mother the mother remarked: "The assault, and how the armed forces neglected to defend our young woman following the incident, led to her death."

Army Statement

The armed forces acknowledged it failed to hear Gunner Beck, who was a native of Cumbria's Oxen Park, when she reported the assault and has said sorry for its management of her complaint.

Following an investigation of Gunner Beck's death, the defendant pleaded guilty to one count of physical violation in September.

The grieving parent said her daughter should have been present with her relatives in the courtroom today, "to witness the man she reported held accountable for his actions."

"Conversely, we appear in her absence, living a life sentence that no loved ones should be forced to endure," she added.

"She followed the rules, but the accountable parties failed in their duties. Such negligence shattered our child completely."

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Judicial Process

The judicial body was informed that the incident happened during an adventure training exercise at Thorney Island, near Hampshire's Emsworth, in July 2021.

The accused, a Sergeant Major at the period, attempted physical intimacy towards the servicewoman subsequent to an social gathering while on assignment for a military exercise.

The victim testified the sergeant stated he had been "anticipating an opportunity for them to be in private" before making physical contact, holding her against her will, and attempting to force intimacy.

She made official allegations against the accused following the assault, regardless of pressure by superiors to discourage her.

An official inquiry into her passing found the armed forces' response of the allegations played "more than a minimal contributing factor in her death."

Mother's Testimony

In a statement presented to the judicial body during proceedings, the parent, stated: "The young woman had just turned a teenager and will forever remain a teenager full of life and laughter."

"She believed individuals to defend her and following the assault, the trust was lost. She was deeply distressed and scared of the sergeant."

"I witnessed the difference before my own eyes. She felt vulnerable and abandoned. That violation destroyed her trust in the set-up that was intended to protect her."

Court Ruling

When announcing the verdict, The judicial officer the magistrate stated: "We must evaluate whether it can be handled in another way. We do not consider it can."

"We are satisfied the severity of the violation means it can only be addressed by immediate custody."

He spoke to the defendant: "She had the strength and intelligence to instruct you to cease and instructed you to retire for the night, but you persisted to the degree she considered she would remain in danger from you even when she went back to her personal quarters."

He stated further: "The next morning, she made the complaint to her family, her acquaintances and her military superiors."

"Subsequent to the allegations, the command decided to handle the situation with light disciplinary measures."

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

"Your military service continued unimpeded and you were in due course advanced to higher rank."

Additional Context

At the formal inquiry into the tragic passing, the coroner said military leadership pressured her to drop the allegations, and just informed it to a military leadership "after information had leaked."

At the period, Webber was given a "light disciplinary meeting" with no additional penalties.

The inquiry was further advised that just weeks after the violation the servicewoman had also been exposed to "relentless harassment" by a different service member.

A separate service member, her line manager, directed toward her over four thousand six hundred SMS communications expressing emotions for her, in addition to a 15-page "personal account" detailing his "imagined scenarios."

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Organizational Reaction

The Army said it provided its "sincerest condolences" to Gunner Beck and her loved ones.

"We remain sincerely regretful for the failings that were identified at Jaysley's inquest in February."

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