Sergeant major is jailed for six months for sexually assaulting female soldier 19, who then killed herself

A sergeant major has been jailed for six months for sexually assaulting a teenage female soldier who later took her own life. 

Royal Artillery Gunner Jaysley Beck, 19, was found hanging in her room at Larkhill Camp, near Salisbury in Wiltshire, on December 15, 2021.

Her death came following a complaint she made against Battery Sergeant Major Michael Webber, now 43, after he pinned her down and tried to kiss her, an inquest heard in February this year. 

He has now been ordered to serve his sentence in a civilian prison by the Judge Advocate General Alan Large and a military board.. 

Webber, who was serving at the same base, last month pleaded guilty to one count of sexual assault at a pre-trial hearing and was today sentenced at Bulford Military Court in Salisbury, Wiltshire.

Jaysley’s family previously welcomed the guilty plea but said ‘nothing can undo the devastating loss of our beautiful daughter’. Her parents Anthony Beck and Leighann McCready were pictured attending court for today’s sentencing.

They and their legal team have criticised the military chain of command, saying more should have done to investigate Jaysley’s complaints – and both parents today made emotional statements to the court. 

February’s inquest concluded she had taken her own life after she made a complaint against Webber, who was accused of pinning her down, attempting to kiss her and placing his hand between her legs during a work social event.

Jaysley’s mother Ms McCready later revealed how she had to plead to see her daughter’s accommodation following the death – and when finally given permission, found a heartbreaking letter tucked away in the young recruit’s room.

Ms McCready has accused the Army over the circumstances surrounding Jaysley’s death – and today delivered an emotional victim impact statement to the court.

Jaysley’s mother said: ‘She had just just turned 19 and she was a teenager full of life and laughter.

‘She had lots of plans for the future and she trusted those around her to protect her and after this that had gone.

‘She called me the morning after it happened and I could tell something was wrong. She had been very scared of Mr Webber so much so she had taken the decision to lock herself in her car.

‘She felt powerless and betrayed. She then found out he had been promoted – “I got a letter and he got a promotion”, she said.

‘She told me she had been made to accept a letter of apology. That assault shattered her faith in the system that was supposed to look after her. Since I lost her, my life has turned upside down.’

And Jaysley’s father Anthony Beck told the court: ‘When Jaysley told me what Michael Webber did, it made me sick – he was twice her age, she trusted him and he took advantage of her trust.

‘She became quieter, stopped trusting people and it was awful to see that light go out in her.

‘What he did didn’t just hurt Jaysley, it tore through our family – every day just feels like I’m getting through the hours.’

Mr Beck, who suffered a heart attack in the months following Jaysley’s death, told the court that any sentence for Webber would ‘never come close to the life sentence I have without my daughter’.

Matthew Scott, defending Webber, said: ‘This is an utterly tragic case and there is nothing I could say that could possibly begin to diminish the extent of the tragedy.

‘Nobody outside the family has felt tragedy in this case more than the defendant.

‘It is not his fault the army, prosecution or police did not proceed more formally against him.

‘He didn’t pretend as some may have done, that nothing had happened.

‘He didn’t hide behind the fact it happened in an empty bar with no other witnesses.’

Mr Scott said that BSM Webber was divorced and no longer sees his 16-year-old daughter – to whom he pays child support.

He now works as a lorry driver and receives a £1,200 military pension. He has an Afghanistan medal, a long service medal, and Jubilee medal.

Ms McCready previously said after February’s inquest: ‘I believe it was a cover up. It was made clear at this inquest that the army knew what had taken place but did not take Jaysley’s complaint seriously and even tried to get her to change her story.’

She subsequently told the Sunday Times how a letter to Jaysley from Webber, then 39, confessed to an incident on July 12, 2021 and described his own behaviour as ‘absolutely unacceptable’.

He concluded by telling her, ‘My door will always open’ – a phrase which Ms McCready said her daughter found to be dismissive.

Gunner Beck had reported to military chiefs that Webber told her he had been ‘waiting for a moment for them to be alone’, engaged her in a drinking game called Last Man Standing before grabbing her leg and trying to kiss her.

February’s inquest heard she pushed him away and left the room before spending the night in her car and making a complaint to her superiors in the morning, during a stay at Thorney Island, near Emsworth, in Hampshire for an adventure training exercise.

Webber was later given a ‘minor administrative action interview’ over the work social event incident, with no further consequences.

He was later promoted to Warrant Officer 1 (WO1) rank, the highest non-commissioned rank in the Army, in May 2022. He has since left the military.

In a statement responding to his guilty plea last month, Ms McCready said: ‘We are relieved that Michael Webber has admitted his guilt and not put us through the trauma of yet more legal proceedings, but nothing can undo the devastating loss of our beautiful daughter Jaysley.’

She described how her daughter had done ‘everything right’ in reporting the attack ‘immediately, not once but twice’ – but senior Army officers did not alert the police.

Ms McCready added: ‘If they had done that one simple thing, we believe with all our hearts she would still be with us today.’

The family’s lawyer Emma Norton said: ‘What an enormous difference it would have made if the Army and its chain of command had just listened to Jaysley when she first told them about the assault and reported it to the police, instead of trying to persuade her it wasn’t that serious.’

It was only after February’s inquest ruling and a request from Gunner Beck’s family to Wiltshire Police, that a file was sent to the the Service Prosecuting Authority who then charged Webber with sexual assault.

The coroner at the earlier hearing was told of Gunner Beck being traumatised not only by Webber’s attack but also the actions of three other officers – one of whom she had a long-distance affair, another who bombarded her with WhatsApp messages and another with whom she socialised on the night of her death.

In an Army statement following February’s inquest verdict, the head of Army Personnel Services Group, Brigadier Melissa Emmett, said: ‘On behalf of the Chief of the General Staff, I wish to extend the Army’s deepest condolences to Jaysley’s family and friends and to offer them our sincerest apologies for the failings that the Coroner has identified during this inquest.

‘We should have done so much more to support and protect her.

‘Jaysley was exactly the kind of person the Army needs, and she was excelling at her job. Her friends described her as someone who was kind, funny and always putting others before herself.

‘The three years since Jaysley’s sad death have seen significant changes in the Army, including the introduction of clear and unequivocal policies to state that there will be Zero Tolerance to unacceptable sexual behaviours.

‘These changes are being embedded throughout our culture, policies, and enduring practices across every part of the Army.

‘There is more work to do, and the evidence heard in this inquest reminds us how important it is to make lasting and effective change.

‘It is my hope that such change will give service personnel the confidence they need to report sexual offences and inappropriate behaviours, knowing that they will be listened to.

‘We are absolutely clear that everyone must play a role in building and upholding the respectful, professional environment we all need to thrive.’

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