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An ex- military sergeant has been sentenced to half a year in prison for attacking a teenage servicewoman who subsequently died by suicide.

Sergeant Major Michael Webber, 43, held down soldier Jaysley Beck and sought to force a kiss on her in mid-2021. She was found dead several months after in her barracks at Larkhill, Wiltshire.

Webber, who was given his punishment at the Court Martial Centre in Wiltshire previously, will be sent to a public jail and listed on sex offenders register for seven years.

Gunner Beck's mother Leighann Mcready remarked: "The assault, and how the Army failed to protect our child following the incident, resulted in her suicide."

Official Reaction

The military leadership acknowledged it ignored the soldier, who was hailing from the Cumbrian village, when she reported the assault and has apologised for its management of her allegations.

Following a formal inquiry regarding the tragic death, the accused pleaded guilty to the offense of sexual assault in September.

Ms McCready commented her daughter should have been present with her relatives in the courtroom this day, "to see the person she reported held accountable for his actions."

"Rather, we are present without her, living a life sentence that no relatives should ever have to face," she stated further.

"She complied with procedures, but those responsible neglected their responsibilities. Those failures destroyed our daughter totally."

Press Association

Legal Hearing

The court was informed that the assault occurred during an adventure training exercise at the exercise site, near Emsworth in Hampshire, in summer 2021.

The sergeant, a Sergeant Major at the time, attempted physical intimacy towards Gunner Beck after an alcohol consumption while on duty for a field training.

Gunner Beck claimed the sergeant said he had been "waiting for a moment for them to be in private" before grabbing her leg, holding her against her will, and attempting to force intimacy.

She reported the incident against the sergeant after the incident, regardless of pressure by commanding officers to persuade her not to.

An inquest into her suicide found the armed forces' response of the complaint played "an important contributing factor in her suicide."

Parent's Account

In a testimony presented to the judicial body during proceedings, the mother, stated: "Our daughter had only become 19 and will eternally stay a youth full of life and laughter."

"She trusted individuals to protect her and post-incident, the faith was lost. She was very upset and fearful of the sergeant."

"I observed the change firsthand. She felt vulnerable and abandoned. That assault broke her trust in the system that was meant to safeguard her."

Court Ruling

While delivering judgment, The presiding judge Alan Large said: "We have to consider whether it can be addressed in another way. We do not believe it can."

"We are satisfied the gravity of the offence means it can only be resolved by prison time."

He addressed the convicted individual: "She had the courage and good sense to demand you halt and directed you to go to bed, but you persisted to the point she considered she wouldn't be safe from you even if she returned to her personal quarters."

He added: "The subsequent morning, she made the complaint to her family, her companions and her military superiors."

"After the complaint, the command decided to address your behavior with minimal consequences."

"You were subject to inquiry and you admitted your conduct had been unacceptable. You composed a apology note."

"Your career advanced completely unaffected and you were eventually promoted to higher rank."

Additional Context

At the formal inquiry into the tragic passing, the official examiner said a commanding officer put pressure on her to cease proceedings, and only reported it to a higher command "when the cat was already out of the bag."

At the time, the sergeant was given a "minor administrative action interview" with no serious repercussions.

The inquest was also told that mere weeks after the violation the soldier had also been facing "relentless harassment" by another soldier.

A separate service member, her superior officer, directed toward her over four thousand six hundred digital communications declaring attachments for her, along with a 15-page "love story" detailing his "fantasies about her."

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Official Statement

The Army said it offered its "heartfelt apologies" to Gunner Beck and her loved ones.

"We remain deeply apologetic for the shortcomings that were noted at the formal investigation in early this year."

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