Ex-sergeant jailed for sexual assault on soldier

An ex-Army sergeant major has been jailed for six months for sexually assaulting a 19-year-old soldier who later took her own life.

Warrant Officer Michael Webber, 43, pinned down Royal Artillery Gunner Jaysley Beck and tried to kiss her in July 2021. She was found dead five months later in her barracks at Larkhill, Wiltshire.

Webber, who was sentenced at the Court Martial Centre in Wiltshire earlier, will be placed in a civilian prison and on the sex offenders register for seven years.

Gunner Beck’s mother Leighann Mcready said: “What he [Webber] did, and how the Army failed to protect our daughter afterwards, cost Jaysley her life.”

The Army said it did not listen to Gunner Beck, who was originally from Oxen Park in Cumbria, when she reported the assault and has apologised for its handling of her complaint.

Following an inquest into Gunner Beck’s death, Webber pleaded guilty to one count of sexual assault in September.

Ms McCready said her daughter should have been sitting with her family in court today, “to see the person she reported held accountable for what he did”.

“Instead, we stand here without her, living a life sentence that no family should ever have to face,” she added.

“She followed the rules, but those responsible didn’t follow theirs. Those failures destroyed our daughter completely. “

Speaking outside court after the sentencing, Ms McCready said the Army spoke about lessons learned but that she was “still waiting to see any real change”.

“I stand here as a bereaved mother fighting for real change now, not hollow promises or recycled words that have already failed my daughter and continue to fail others.

“Our soldiers deserve a system they can trust, one that protects them, believes them, and values their lives above its own reputation.

“We can’t bring our daughter back, but I’ll keep fighting to make sure her life leads to change that helps…. and hopefully saves others.”

The court was told that the incident took place during an adventure training exercise at Thorney Island, near Emsworth in Hampshire, in July 2021.

Webber, a Sergeant Major at the time, made a sexual advance towards Gunner Beck following an evening of drinking while on deployment for a training exercise.

Gunner Beck claimed Webber said he had been “waiting for a moment for them to be alone” before grabbing her leg, pinning her down, and trying to kiss her.

She filed a complaint against Webber following the incident, despite attempts by superiors to persuade her not to.

An inquest into her death found the Army’s handling of the complaint played “more than a minimal contributory part in her death”.

Following the inquest, Gunner Beck’s family asked Wiltshire Police to consider criminal proceedings against Webber and he was later charged with sexual assault.

In a statement read out to the court earlier, Ms McCready, said: “She had just turned 19 and will always be a teenager full of life and laughter.

“She trusted people to protect her and after what he did, the trust was gone. She was very upset and scared of Michael Webber.

“I saw the change before my own eyes. She felt powerless and betrayed. That assault shattered her faith in the set-up that was supposed to look after her.”

During sentencing, Judge Advocate General Alan Large said: “We have to consider whether it can be dealt with in another way. We do not consider it can.

“We are satisfied the seriousness of the offence means it can only be dealt with by immediate custody.”

He told Webber: “She had the courage and good sense to tell you to stop and told you to go to bed, but you persisted to the extent she considered she wouldn’t be safe from you even if she went back to her own accommodation.”

He continued: “The next morning, she reported the incident to her family, her friends and her chain of command.

“Following the report, the unit decided to deal with you with minor administrative action.

“You were interviewed and you accepted your behaviour had been unacceptable. You wrote a letter of apology.

“Your career continued completely unaffected and you were in due course promoted to Warrant Officer 1.”

At the inquest into Gunner Beck’s death, the coroner said Capt James Hook put pressure on her to drop the allegations, and only reported it to a higher command “when the cat was already out of the bag”.

It was also told that just weeks after the assault Gunner Beck had also been subjected to “relentless harassment” by another soldier.

Bombardier Ryan Mason, her line manager, sent her more than 4,600 text messages confessing his feelings for her, along with a 15-page “love story” detailing his “fantasies about her”.

The Army said it offered its “sincerest condolences” to Gunner Beck and her family.

“We will always be profoundly sorry for the failings that were identified at Jaysley’s inquest in February.

“The end of this court marshall is another traumatic step in the journey for Jaysley’s family and we acknowledge that today’s outcome has come too late for their beloved daughter.

“We are determined to make sure the same mistakes do not happen again.”

Maj Gen Jon Swift, assistant chief of the General Staff, said: “Following Jaysley’s inquest, work is going on to bring change – so staff can bring forward complaints knowing they’ll be dealt with.”

The Ministry of Defence (MoD) has said that “unacceptable and criminal behaviour has absolutely no place” in the Armed Forces.

The Army introduced the Defence Serious Crime Command (DSCC) in 2022, the year after Jaysley died, as part of a major reform of the UK military’s justice system.

The MoD added: “The Defence Serious Crime Command assures all serving personnel that any reporting of a serious crime will be investigated independently from their chain of command and prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.

“This includes the Violence against Women and Girls Taskforce and our Victim and Witness Care Unit, which provides independent support to victims.”

Additional reporting by Bea Swallow, Dawn Limbu and Clara Bullock

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