🔗 Share this article Former Sergeant Major Jailed for Sexual Assault on 19-Year-Old Servicewoman Personal Photograph Gunner Beck was located without life in her military quarters at Larkhill in the Wiltshire area on 15 December 2021 A former service sergeant has been sentenced to six months in prison for sexually assaulting a 19-year-old soldier who later took her own life. Warrant Officer Michael Webber, 43, pinned down soldier the victim and attempted to make physical contact in the summer of 2021. She was found dead several months after in her military accommodation at Larkhill military installation. The defendant, who was given his punishment at the Court Martial Centre in the Wiltshire region recently, will be placed in a civilian prison and listed on offender database for seven years. The victim's mother the mother commented: "The assault, and how the military neglected to defend our young woman following the incident, cost Jaysley her life." Military Response The armed forces acknowledged it ignored the servicewoman, who was originally from Oxen Park in Cumbria, when she filed the complaint and has apologised for its management of her report. Following a formal inquiry regarding the soldier's suicide, the defendant confessed to the offense of physical violation in September. The mother said her child ought to have been sitting with her relatives in legal proceedings today, "to witness the person she filed against held accountable for what he did." "Rather, we appear missing her, living a life sentence that no family should ever have to face," she stated further. "She complied with procedures, but those responsible didn't follow theirs. These shortcomings shattered our child completely." PA The soldier's mother, Ms. McCready, stated her daughter felt 'powerless and betrayed' Judicial Process The legal tribunal was advised that the violation took place during an field exercise at the training location, near Emsworth in Hampshire, in summer 2021. Webber, a ranking soldier at the moment, made a sexual advance towards the servicewoman following an social gathering while on assignment for a field training. The servicewoman claimed the sergeant remarked he had been "waiting for a moment for them to be in private" before taking hold of her, pinning her down, and trying to kiss her. She filed a complaint against Webber subsequent to the assault, notwithstanding efforts by military leadership to persuade her not to. An official inquiry into her suicide found the armed forces' response of the allegations played "an important contributing factor in her suicide." Family Statement In a statement shared to the judicial body earlier, Ms McCready, stated: "She had recently celebrated nineteen and will forever remain a teenager full of life and laughter." "She trusted people to defend her and post-incident, the trust was gone. She was extremely troubled and fearful of the sergeant." "I witnessed the difference before my own eyes. She felt helpless and deceived. That violation destroyed her trust in the structure that was meant to look after her." Judge's Statement When announcing the verdict, The presiding judge Alan Large remarked: "We need to assess whether it can be addressed in an alternative approach. We are not convinced it can." "We are satisfied the severity of the violation means it can only be resolved by incarceration." He told the defendant: "She had the strength and intelligence to instruct you to cease and instructed you to leave the area, but you persisted to the point she believed she could not feel secure from you despite the fact she returned to her personal quarters." He stated further: "The following day, she reported the incident to her family, her acquaintances and her chain of command." "Subsequent to the allegations, the command opted to address your behavior with light disciplinary measures." "You underwent questioning and you accepted your conduct had been unacceptable. You prepared a letter of apology." "Your military service proceeded unimpeded and you were eventually advanced to Warrant Officer 1." Further Details At the inquest into the tragic passing, the official examiner said Capt James Hook pressured her to withdraw the complaint, and only reported it to a superior officers "once details became known." At the time, the sergeant was given a "minor administrative action interview" with no further consequences. The inquest was further advised that just weeks after the assault Gunner Beck had additionally been subjected to "continuous bullying" by another soldier. A separate service member, her line manager, directed toward her more than 4,600 SMS communications expressing emotions for her, along with a 15-page "romantic narrative" outlining his "personal thoughts." Personal collection An inquest into the soldier's suicide found the military's management of her complaint played "more than a minimal role in her demise" Institutional Response The Army stated it extended its "sincerest condolences" to Gunner Beck and her family. "We will always be deeply apologetic for the shortcomings that were noted at the official inquiry in winter." "{The end of|The conclusion of|The completion