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Family Snapshot

An ex- service sergeant has been sentenced to 180 days in jail for attacking a 19-year-old soldier who later died by suicide.

Warrant Officer the former sergeant, 43, restrained Royal Artillery Gunner the young woman and tried to kiss her in the summer of 2021. She was discovered deceased five months later in her barracks at Larkhill military installation.

Webber, who was sentenced at the Court Martial Centre in Wiltshire earlier, will be placed in a civilian prison and on the offender database for multiple years.

Gunner Beck's mother Ms. Mcready stated: "What he [Webber] did, and how the Army failed to protect our child afterwards, led to her death."

Military Response

The military leadership acknowledged it ignored the soldier, who was originally from Oxen Park in Cumbria, when she filed the complaint and has expressed regret for its handling of her allegations.

After an investigation of the soldier's suicide, the accused admitted to the offense of physical violation in last fall.

Ms McCready stated her young woman could have been alongside her family in court now, "to observe the person she reported held accountable for the assault."

"Rather, we stand here without her, enduring endless sorrow that no family should ever experience," she added.

"She adhered to protocols, but the accountable parties didn't follow theirs. These shortcomings shattered our child totally."

PA

Court Proceedings

The legal tribunal was told that the assault took place during an military training at Thorney Island, near Hampshire's Emsworth, in July 2021.

The sergeant, a ranking soldier at the time, attempted physical intimacy towards the soldier after an social gathering while on assignment for a training exercise.

Gunner Beck testified Webber remarked he had been "anticipating an opportunity for them to be in private" before grabbing her leg, restraining her, and trying to kiss her.

She filed a complaint against Webber following the incident, despite attempts by superiors to convince her against reporting.

An official inquiry into her passing found the Army's handling of the complaint played "more than a minimal contributing factor in her death."

Family Statement

In a statement read out to the judicial body previously, the parent, said: "The young woman had only become a teenager and will eternally stay a young person full of energy and happiness."

"She believed individuals to defend her and after what he did, the trust was gone. She was extremely troubled and scared of the sergeant."

"I witnessed the difference personally. She felt helpless and deceived. That violation shattered her confidence in the system that was meant to look after her."

Sentencing Remarks

During sentencing, Judge Advocate General the judge said: "We need to assess whether it can be handled in an alternative approach. We do not consider it can."

"We are satisfied the seriousness of the crime means it can only be addressed by incarceration."

He spoke to the convicted individual: "The servicewoman had the courage and good sense to demand you halt and instructed you to leave the area, but you carried on to the point she considered she would remain in danger from you even if she retreated to her own accommodation."

He continued: "The next morning, she reported the incident to her loved ones, her acquaintances and her chain of command."

"Subsequent to the allegations, the military unit opted to deal with you with light disciplinary measures."

"You were interviewed and you acknowledged your actions had been improper. You composed a letter of apology."

"Your career continued completely unaffected and you were subsequently promoted to Warrant Officer 1."

Additional Context

At the inquest into the tragic passing, the coroner said a commanding officer pressured her to drop the allegations, and just informed it to a superior officers "once details became known."

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

The inquest was also told that mere weeks after the incident the soldier had also been exposed to "continuous bullying" by another soldier.

Bombardier Ryan Mason, her superior officer, sent her over four thousand six hundred SMS communications expressing emotions for her, along with a 15-page "personal account" detailing his "personal thoughts."

Personal collection

Institutional Response

The military leadership stated it offered its "heartfelt apologies" to the soldier and her relatives.

"We continue to be deeply apologetic for the shortcomings that were identified at Jaysley's inquest in February."

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