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An ex- service sergeant has been given six months in jail for sexually assaulting a young gunner who subsequently died by suicide.

Sergeant Major Michael Webber, 43, restrained service member the victim and tried to force a kiss on her in the summer of 2021. She was found dead five months later in her barracks at Larkhill, Wiltshire.

The convicted individual, who was judged at the military court in the Wiltshire region previously, will be placed in a civilian prison and listed on offender database for seven years.

The family matriarch the mother remarked: "His actions, and how the military did not safeguard our young woman afterwards, resulted in her suicide."

Official Reaction

The Army acknowledged it failed to hear the servicewoman, who was a native of Oxen Park in Cumbria, when she reported the assault and has apologised for its handling of her complaint.

Following a formal inquiry regarding the tragic death, Webber confessed to a single charge of unwanted sexual advance in the autumn.

Ms McCready commented her daughter could have been alongside her loved ones in court today, "to see the man she reported facing consequences for the assault."

"Conversely, we appear in her absence, facing perpetual grief that no family should ever experience," she stated further.

"She adhered to protocols, but the individuals in charge didn't follow theirs. Such negligence broke our young woman completely."

Press Association

Legal Hearing

The legal tribunal was advised that the assault occurred during an field exercise at Thorney Island, near Hampshire's Emsworth, in mid-2021.

The accused, a senior officer at the moment, attempted physical intimacy towards the soldier subsequent to an social gathering while on deployment for a military exercise.

The victim claimed the accused said he had been "seeking a chance for them to be in private" before making physical contact, restraining her, and attempting to force intimacy.

She made official allegations against the accused subsequent to the assault, notwithstanding efforts by commanding officers to convince her against reporting.

An inquest into her death found the armed forces' response of the allegations played "an important contributory part in her death."

Parent's Account

In a account read out to the judicial body during proceedings, the mother, stated: "The young woman had only become 19 and will always be a teenager full of vitality and joy."

"She trusted people to protect her and after what he did, the trust was shattered. She was extremely troubled and terrified of the accused."

"I witnessed the change firsthand. She felt vulnerable and abandoned. That violation shattered her trust in the system that was intended to protect her."

Judge's Statement

While delivering judgment, The judicial officer the magistrate remarked: "We need to assess whether it can be handled in an alternative approach. We do not consider it can."

"We have determined the severity of the offence means it can only be dealt with by prison time."

He addressed the convicted individual: "She had the courage and good sense to tell you to stop and directed you to retire for the night, but you continued to the point she felt she wouldn't be safe from you even if she went back to her personal quarters."

He stated further: "The following day, she disclosed the assault to her relatives, her companions and her military superiors."

"After the complaint, the military unit chose to handle the situation with minimal consequences."

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

"Your military service continued unimpeded and you were eventually advanced to Warrant Officer 1."

Additional Context

At the inquest into the soldier's suicide, the coroner said Capt James Hook pressured her to withdraw the complaint, and just informed it to a higher command "when the cat was already out of the bag."

At the moment, the accused was given a "light disciplinary meeting" with no serious repercussions.

The inquiry was additionally informed that just weeks after the assault Gunner Beck had also been facing "persistent mistreatment" by a different service member.

Bombardier Ryan Mason, her line manager, sent her more than 4,600 digital communications expressing emotions for her, accompanied by a fifteen-page "romantic narrative" detailing his "fantasies about her."

Family handout

Organizational Reaction

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

"We remain deeply apologetic for the failings that were noted at Jaysley's inquest in winter."

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