A former senior army sergeant major has been jailed for sexually assaulting a teenage soldier who later took her own life.
Warrant Officer Michael Webber, who was 39 at the time, last month pleaded guilty at the Court Martial Centre in Bulford, Wiltshire, to assaulting Royal Artillery Gunner Jaysley Beck in an attack that left her “severely frightened” and feeling “powerless and betrayed”, according to her family.
The 19-year-old soldier’s body was found at Larkhill Camp in Wiltshire on 15 December 2021 – five months after the incident, following which, her mother said: “I saw the change in her with my own eyes – my bright, confident daughter became quiet and withdrawn.”
But Beck’s family stressed that it was the combined impact of the assault as well as the way it was later handled by the authorities, including the pressure put on her to not make a police report, that “shattered her faith in the system that was supposed to look after her”.
A court heard a service inquiry conducted in 2023 also found that Beck “had been subject to a number of inappropriate behaviours by senior personnel in months before her death”, of which Webber was only one.
Webber was sentenced to six months’ imprisonment at the Court Martial Centre in Bulford, Wiltshire, on Friday. He has already left the army, so the judge said he could not be dismissed, but Webber was also “sent to the ranks”, which means he has been demoted to the lowest possible rank in the military.
In a victim impact statement read to the hearing, Beck’s mother, Leighann McCready, said: “I truly believe what he did and how it was handled broke something inside her that she couldn’t repair.”
Her sister Emilli Beck added: “I feel my sister was shamefully manipulated by Michael Webber, then by those who protected him, encouraging her to think about the impact a formal report would have on Michael Webber’s family and career and discouraging her from taking it further.”
Describing Webber’s behaviour as leaving him “sick to my stomach”, Beck’s father, Anthony, said: “What he did didn’t just hurt Jaysley, it tore through our family. It will haunt me for the rest of my life. The world keeps moving, but mine has stopped. Whatever sentence he’s given, it will never come close to the life service I’m serving without my daughter.”
During an inquest into her death, coroner Nicholas Rheinberg ruled that “on the balance of probabilities” Beck had been sexually assaulted by a senior colleague, and the army’s failure to take appropriate action “more than minimally” contributed to her death.
The coroner added that Beck’s complaint about being sexually assaulted on a stay during a training exercise at Thorney Island in Hampshire “should have been reported to police and the failure to do so breached army policy”.
On Friday, the court heard Webber told Beck she was “beautiful” before “he put a hand on the back of her head in order to kiss her and also touched her thigh” while at the adventure training exercise in July 2021. Despite her asking him to stop, he continued, the hearing was told, leaving Beck too afraid to return to her accommodation and forced to hide from him in the toilet, before later sleeping in her car that night for safety.
The court heard Beck, who joined the army at 16, “made a number of reports” about the incident in the immediate days afterwards, including to her mother, friends and chain of command. However, the latter chose to deal with her complaint as a “minor administrative” issue, prosecutor Commodore James Farrant told the hearing. “I’m sure the court will find that whatever its justification, it was not appropriate this issue was dealt with administratively,” he said. “It meant no police involvement could take place.”
Webber admitted to his “unacceptable behaviour” in an interview and wrote Beck a letter of apology, shortly after which he was promoted, the court heard. Beck later told her mother that “I got a letter, he got a promotion”, words Ms McCready said had “echoed in my head ever since”.
Emilli Beck said Webber should have been stripped of his rank “immediately” and a proper investigation should have been launched the morning after the incident. “I wholeheartedly believe that would’ve made all the difference and we would not be here today if that had happened,” she said.
Emma Norton, a solicitor from the Centre for Military Justice (CMJ), which has been representing the family, described the behaviour and lack of appropriate action taken by the army as “outrageous” and “unconscionable”.
Lucy Baston, another lawyer at the CMJ, which supports women in the UK armed forces, said: “Many of the women we support have been harassed, raped or sexually assaulted during the course of their service. These women tell us about the barriers which they continue to face when they try to speak to their chain of command (CoC) in the aftermath of these incidents, just as Jaysley did in 2021. In many of our cases, we see that the CoC has not followed the relevant policies that are in place to safeguard and support victims of sexual crimes.
“The result is that some women suffer in silence, they do not report serious sexual offences to the police, and they do not complain about sexual harassment. This can have devastating consequences, which is what Jaysley’s family have helped to highlight in the aftermath of her death.”
Webber is “devastated” and accepts his actions “contributed in some way to the tragic outcome” when Beck took her own life five months after he assaulted her, his lawyer Matthew Scott told the court. “He makes no excuse for what he did.”
Major General Jon Swift, assistant chief of the General Staff (ACGS), said: “We will always be profoundly sorry for the failings that were identified at Jaysley’s inquest in February. The end of this court martial is another traumatic step in the journey for Jaysley’s family, and we acknowledge that today’s outcome has come too late for their beloved daughter. We are sorry we didn’t listen to Jaysley when she first reported her assault.
“We are determined to make sure the same mistakes don’t happen again. Since Jaysley’s death, we have introduced a significant cultural reform programme, alongside the ‘Raising our Standards’ programme. We are making improvements in how we train our people in appropriate behaviours, how we assess and select our leaders, and to build the trust our people place in us to address every complaint.”
Louise Sandher-Jones, minister for veterans and people, said: “The death of Jaysley-Louise Beck was a tragedy and her loss continues to be felt across the army and wider defence community. My thoughts are with her loved ones and we remain profoundly sorry for the failure to protect her.”
She stressed that “there is no place for criminal or unacceptable behaviours within the military” and said the government is “bringing about crucial reform” to prevent what happened to Beck from happening again.
If you are experiencing feelings of distress, or are struggling to cope, you can speak to the Samaritans, in confidence, on 116 123 (UK and ROI), email jo@samaritans.org, or visit the Samaritans website to find details of your nearest branch
Rape Crisis offers support for those affected by rape and sexual abuse. You can call them on 0808 802 9999 in England and Wales, 0808 801 0302 in Scotland, and 0800 0246 991 in Northern Ireland, or visit their website at www.rapecrisis.org.uk. If you are in the US, you can call Rainn on 800-656-HOPE (4673)
