Ex-sergeant major jailed for sexually assaulting teenage soldier Jaysley Beck
- On Friday, Warrant Officer Michael Webber, 43, was jailed for six months at Bulford Court Martial Centre for sexually assaulting Royal Artillery Gunner Jaysley Beck after pleading guilty.
- During an Army adventure training stay at Thorney Island, Gunner Beck pushed Webber away, hid in the toilets, then locked herself in her car overnight to avoid him before reporting the incident.
- A service inquiry found senior personnel subjected Beck to inappropriate behaviour and thousands of messages from Bombardier Ryan Mason, while Wiltshire Police investigated but did not pursue criminal charges before the Defence Serious Crime Unit took over.
- Earlier this year, the inquest found the Army's failures made a `more than minimal` contribution to her death, with the Army report citing `an intense period of unwelcome behaviour`.
- Victim personal statements from Leighann McCready, Anthony Beck and Emilli Beck were read to the court, while Commodore James Farrant criticised the Army's administrative response for blocking a police investigation.
30 Articles
30 Articles
British Army ex-officer jailed for sexually assaulting soldier before her death
LONDON, Nov 1 — A former British Army senior officer was sentenced to six months in prison on Friday for sexually assaulting a young woman soldier who later died by suicide.Jaysley Beck, 19, had complained to superiors in July 2021 that Michael Webber, then a battery sergeant major, had sexually assaulted her.Webber, now 43, later wrote Beck an apology letter, but her complaint was not taken forward or reported to police.Royal Artillery Gunner B…
The UK Army has acknowledged her tragic mistake with Jaysley Beck, who ended up killing herself in 2021, at the age of 19, but the punishment has been mild. The former major sergeant who sexually assaulted her in July of that same year, Michael Webber, 43, has received a six-month prison sentence, of which only three will have to remain locked up.
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