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An ex- service sergeant has been given half a year in jail for attacking a 19-year-old soldier who subsequently took her own life.

Warrant Officer the former sergeant, forty-three, held down Royal Artillery Gunner the victim and attempted to kiss her in mid-2021. She was found dead five months later in her military accommodation at the Wiltshire base.

Webber, who was given his punishment at the military court in Wiltshire earlier, will be transferred to a public jail and listed on sex offenders register for a seven-year period.

The family matriarch the mother commented: "His actions, and how the Army failed to protect our child subsequently, cost Jaysley her life."

Official Reaction

The armed forces said it ignored the soldier, who was a native of Cumbria's Oxen Park, when she disclosed the incident and has expressed regret for its response to her complaint.

After a formal inquiry regarding the soldier's suicide, Webber admitted to a single charge of unwanted sexual advance in the autumn.

Ms McCready stated her daughter should have been sitting with her family in the courtroom this day, "to observe the individual she accused held accountable for his actions."

"Conversely, we appear in her absence, enduring endless sorrow that no relatives should ever experience," she stated further.

"She complied with procedures, but those responsible didn't follow theirs. Those failures destroyed our daughter completely."

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Court Proceedings

The court was told that the violation took place during an adventure training exercise at the exercise site, near Emsworth in Hampshire, in mid-2021.

Webber, a ranking soldier at the time, attempted physical intimacy towards the servicewoman subsequent to an alcohol consumption while on assignment for a field training.

The victim testified the sergeant remarked he had been "anticipating an opportunity for them to be by themselves" before making physical contact, pinning her down, and making unwanted advances.

She filed a complaint against the sergeant after the violation, despite attempts by superiors to persuade her not to.

An official inquiry into her death found the military's management of the complaint played "an important contributory part in her death."

Parent's Account

In a testimony read out to the court during proceedings, the mother, expressed: "The young woman had recently celebrated 19 and will always be a youth full of energy and happiness."

"She trusted authorities to defend her and after what he did, the trust was gone. She was deeply distressed and terrified of Michael Webber."

"I saw the difference firsthand. She felt helpless and deceived. That assault broke her faith in the system that was meant to look after her."

Court Ruling

When announcing the verdict, Judge Advocate General Alan Large said: "We have to consider whether it can be dealt with in an alternative approach. We do not consider it can."

"We conclude the severity of the crime means it can only be resolved by immediate custody."

He addressed Webber: "She had the strength and intelligence to tell you to stop and instructed you to retire for the night, but you continued to the degree she felt she wouldn't be safe from you despite the fact she went back to her assigned barracks."

He stated further: "The subsequent morning, she disclosed the assault to her relatives, her acquaintances and her chain of command."

"After the complaint, the command decided to address your behavior with light disciplinary measures."

"You underwent questioning and you acknowledged your behavior had been unacceptable. You composed a written apology."

"Your career continued completely unaffected and you were eventually advanced to senior position."

Background Information

At the inquest into Gunner Beck's death, the coroner said a commanding officer pressured her to withdraw the complaint, and just informed it to a military leadership "once details became known."

At the time, Webber was given a "minor administrative action interview" with no serious repercussions.

The investigation was further advised that just weeks after the violation the soldier had additionally been exposed to "relentless harassment" by another soldier.

Another soldier, her commanding individual, sent her more than 4,600 text messages confessing his feelings for her, accompanied by a fifteen-page "love story" outlining his "fantasies about her."

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Organizational Reaction

The military leadership stated it provided its "sincerest condolences" to the soldier and her relatives.

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

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