Ex- Sergeant Major Imprisoned for Sexual Offense on Young Servicewoman

Family Snapshot

An ex- Army sergeant major has been sentenced to half a year in custody for attacking a young gunner who later died by suicide.

Warrant Officer Michael Webber, 43, restrained Royal Artillery Gunner Jaysley Beck and attempted to kiss her in July 2021. She was found dead several months after in her quarters at Larkhill military installation.

The defendant, who was given his punishment at the legal proceedings in the Wiltshire region earlier, will be placed in a correctional facility and on the offender database for a seven-year period.

The family matriarch Leighann Mcready remarked: "His actions, and how the armed forces failed to protect our child following the incident, resulted in her suicide."

Army Statement

The military leadership said it ignored the soldier, who was originally from the Cumbrian village, when she disclosed the incident and has said sorry for its handling of her allegations.

After an inquest into Gunner Beck's death, the accused pleaded guilty to the offense of physical violation in last fall.

The mother stated her young woman should have been alongside her loved ones in court this day, "to see the man she reported held accountable for his actions."

"Rather, we stand here without her, enduring endless sorrow that no relatives should ever experience," she stated further.

"She followed the rules, but the accountable parties failed in their duties. Those failures shattered our child utterly."

Press Association

Legal Hearing

The judicial body was informed that the violation occurred during an field exercise at Thorney Island, near Hampshire's Emsworth, in mid-2021.

Webber, a ranking soldier at the period, attempted physical intimacy towards Gunner Beck subsequent to an evening of drinking while on duty for a training exercise.

The servicewoman stated the sergeant remarked he had been "waiting for a moment for them to be by themselves" before making physical contact, holding her against her will, and trying to kiss her.

She filed a complaint against the accused after the assault, regardless of pressure by military leadership to convince her against reporting.

An inquest into her passing found the military's management of the complaint played "more than a minimal contributory part in her death."

Parent's Account

In a testimony shared to the court earlier, Ms McCready, stated: "Our daughter had just turned 19 and will always be a young person full of energy and happiness."

"She believed authorities to protect her and post-incident, the confidence was shattered. She was deeply distressed and fearful of Michael Webber."

"I observed the transformation firsthand. She felt vulnerable and abandoned. That incident shattered her trust in the system that was intended to protect her."

Judge's Statement

When announcing the verdict, The judicial officer Alan Large stated: "We must evaluate whether it can be handled in an alternative approach. We do not believe it can."

"We are satisfied the severity of the crime means it can only be addressed by prison time."

He told the convicted individual: "She had the bravery and wisdom to demand you halt and directed you to leave the area, but you persisted to the extent she believed she wouldn't be safe from you even if she retreated to her assigned barracks."

He continued: "The subsequent morning, she made the complaint to her loved ones, her friends and her military superiors."

"Subsequent to the allegations, the military unit opted to address your behavior with minor administrative action."

"You were subject to inquiry and you accepted your actions had been unacceptable. You composed a written apology."

"Your military service advanced without interruption and you were in due course promoted to senior position."

Background Information

At the investigation into Gunner Beck's death, the official examiner said military leadership put pressure on her to drop the allegations, and merely disclosed it to a higher command "after information had leaked."

At the moment, the accused was given a "minimal consequence discussion" with no additional penalties.

The investigation was further advised that mere weeks after the assault Gunner Beck had further been subjected to "continuous bullying" by a different service member.

Bombardier Ryan Mason, her line manager, sent her more than 4,600 digital communications declaring attachments for her, accompanied by a 15-page "romantic narrative" detailing his "imagined scenarios."

Family archive

Organizational Reaction

The armed forces expressed it extended its "heartfelt apologies" to Gunner Beck and her family.

"We will always be deeply apologetic for the failings that were discovered at the official inquiry in winter."

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