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A former Army sergeant major has been sentenced to six months in jail for sexually assaulting a teenage servicewoman who subsequently ended her life.

Sergeant Major the former sergeant, 43, pinned down service member Jaysley Beck and attempted to force a kiss on her in July 2021. She was found dead five months later in her quarters at Larkhill military installation.

Webber, who was judged at the military court in Wiltshire earlier, will be transferred to a correctional facility and on the offender database for a seven-year period.

The victim's mother Ms. Mcready stated: "His actions, and how the military failed to protect our child following the incident, cost Jaysley her life."

Military Response

The Army said it ignored Gunner Beck, who was hailing from Oxen Park in Cumbria, when she filed the complaint and has expressed regret for its management of her complaint.

Following an inquest into the soldier's suicide, Webber pleaded guilty to a single charge of physical violation in the autumn.

The mother commented her daughter could have been alongside her relatives in the courtroom this day, "to witness the man she reported brought to justice for what he did."

"Conversely, we stand here missing her, living a life sentence that no family should ever experience," she continued.

"She followed the rules, but the individuals in charge neglected their responsibilities. Those failures broke our young woman totally."

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Court Proceedings

The legal tribunal was informed that the incident occurred during an field exercise at the exercise site, near Hampshire's Emsworth, in mid-2021.

The accused, a Sergeant Major at the period, initiated inappropriate contact towards the servicewoman after an evening of drinking while on assignment for a field training.

The servicewoman testified the sergeant remarked he had been "anticipating an opportunity for them to be by themselves" before taking hold of her, restraining her, and attempting to force intimacy.

She reported the incident against Webber after the violation, notwithstanding efforts by commanding officers to discourage her.

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

Parent's Account

In a account shared to the judicial body previously, the parent, expressed: "Our daughter had recently celebrated 19 and will always be a young person full of energy and happiness."

"She believed individuals to defend her and post-incident, the confidence was gone. She was very upset and terrified of the accused."

"I saw the difference before my own eyes. She felt helpless and deceived. That assault destroyed her confidence in the set-up that was intended to look after her."

Court Ruling

During sentencing, The judicial officer Alan Large stated: "We need to assess whether it can be handled in a different manner. We are not convinced it can."

"We have determined the seriousness of the violation means it can only be resolved by prison time."

He addressed the defendant: "The victim had the courage and good sense to instruct you to cease and directed you to retire for the night, but you carried on to the extent she believed she would remain in danger from you even when she returned to her personal quarters."

He continued: "The following day, she reported the incident to her family, her acquaintances and her commanding officers."

"Subsequent to the allegations, the command decided to deal with you with minor administrative action."

"You were interviewed and you admitted your actions had been unacceptable. You prepared a letter of apology."

"Your professional path proceeded completely unaffected and you were in due course promoted to senior position."

Additional Context

At the formal inquiry into Gunner Beck's death, the coroner said Capt James Hook 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 period, Webber was given a "minor administrative action interview" with no further consequences.

The inquiry was additionally informed that mere weeks after the violation Gunner Beck had additionally been exposed to "persistent mistreatment" by a separate individual.

Another soldier, her superior officer, sent her over four thousand six hundred digital communications expressing emotions for her, along with a multi-page "personal account" describing his "fantasies about her."

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Institutional Response

The military leadership said it provided its "sincerest condolences" to Gunner Beck and her relatives.

"We will always be sincerely regretful for the shortcomings that were identified at Jaysley's inquest in early this year."

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