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A former Army sergeant major has been sentenced to six months in custody for attacking a 19-year-old soldier who subsequently ended her life.

Warrant Officer the former sergeant, in his forties, held down Royal Artillery Gunner the victim and attempted to kiss her in July 2021. She was discovered deceased several months after in her barracks at Larkhill military installation.

The defendant, who was given his punishment at the military court in Wiltshire earlier, will be placed in a civilian prison and registered as offender database for multiple years.

Gunner Beck's mother Leighann Mcready stated: "What he [Webber] did, and how the armed forces did not safeguard our daughter following the incident, cost Jaysley her life."

Military Response

The military leadership stated it ignored Gunner Beck, who was a native of Cumbria's Oxen Park, when she filed the complaint and has said sorry for its handling of her allegations.

After an investigation of Gunner Beck's death, the defendant admitted to one count of physical violation in September.

The mother stated her young woman should have been alongside her loved ones in the courtroom this day, "to observe the man she accused brought to justice for the assault."

"Instead, we are present in her absence, living a life sentence that no relatives should ever have to face," she continued.

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

PA

Court Proceedings

The court was advised that the incident occurred during an field exercise at the training location, near Hampshire's Emsworth, in July 2021.

Webber, a senior officer at the moment, made a sexual advance towards the soldier subsequent to an evening of drinking while on deployment for a field training.

Gunner Beck stated the sergeant remarked he had been "waiting for a moment for them to be alone" before making physical contact, pinning her down, and attempting to force intimacy.

She reported the incident against the sergeant after the incident, regardless of pressure by superiors to discourage her.

A formal investigation into her passing found the Army's handling of the allegations played "a significant role in her death."

Parent's Account

In a account presented to the tribunal earlier, the mother, stated: "Our daughter had only become nineteen and will eternally stay a young person full of energy and happiness."

"She had faith individuals to protect her and after what he did, the trust was gone. She was extremely troubled and scared of the accused."

"I witnessed the transformation before my own eyes. She felt helpless and deceived. That incident broke her confidence in the structure that was meant to protect her."

Judge's Statement

When announcing the verdict, Judge Advocate General the judge said: "We must evaluate whether it can be dealt with in a different manner. We do not believe it can."

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

He told the convicted individual: "The victim had the strength and intelligence to demand you halt and instructed you to go to bed, but you continued to the degree she felt she would remain in danger from you even if she retreated to her personal quarters."

He stated further: "The subsequent morning, she made the complaint to her family, her friends and her military superiors."

"Subsequent to the allegations, the unit chose to address your behavior with light disciplinary measures."

"You underwent questioning and you admitted your conduct had been unacceptable. You wrote a letter of apology."

"Your military service advanced without interruption and you were in due course advanced to higher rank."

Background Information

At the formal inquiry into the tragic passing, the investigating officer said military leadership influenced her to withdraw the complaint, and just informed it to a military leadership "when the cat was already out of the bag."

At the period, the sergeant was given a "minimal consequence discussion" with no further consequences.

The inquest was also told that mere weeks after the assault the servicewoman had additionally been facing "continuous bullying" by a different service member.

Bombardier Ryan Mason, her commanding individual, sent her over four thousand six hundred digital communications confessing his feelings for her, along with a fifteen-page "romantic narrative" outlining his "imagined scenarios."

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Official Statement

The military leadership stated it extended its "heartfelt apologies" to the soldier and her loved ones.

"We will always be sincerely regretful for the shortcomings that were discovered at the formal investigation in February."

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