A tragic development has emerged in the case of a 19-year-old soldier who was found dead after a former sergeant major allegedly pinned her down and tried to kiss her.
Michael Webber, who was 39 at the time and serving as Battery Sergeant Major, pleaded guilty on Friday to one count of sexual assault.
His victim, Gunner Jaysley Beck of the Royal Artillery, was found dead at Larkhill barracks, Wiltshire, on Dec. 15, 2021.
An inquest earlier this year ruled that Webber’s assault played “more than a minimal contributory part in her death," the Telegraph reported.
Beck had reported Webber after he pinned her down and tried to kiss her during a work social event.
Despite her complaint, the Army’s response was minimal - Webber received only a minor administrative action and was allowed to remain in post.
Initially, the incident was not reported to the police and was instead recorded as “inappropriate behaviour unbecoming of a warrant officer”.
Beck’s mother, Leighann McCready, said her daughter “did everything right” by reporting the assault twice, but the system failed her.
“If they had done that one simple thing, we believe with all our hearts she would still be with us today,” she said.
Colleagues who gave evidence at the inquest said they were “incensed” at how the case was handled.
Bombardier George Young, a close friend, said Beck felt her complaint had been “squashed” and described the letter of apology from Webber as “pathetic," per The Guardian.
Another soldier, Bombardier Braddon Haigh, agreed: “That whole team clearly looked out for each other in a way that if someone comes with a service complaint, it is just brushed under, write your letter, done and dusted.”
One soldier revealed that the late teen confided in them about further harassment by her line manager, Bombardier Ryan Mason, who sent her more than 4,600 text messages and even a 15-page “love story” about her.
But after her experience with Webber’s case, Beck was reluctant to report Mason, fearing she would be seen as “that girl” who constantly made complaints.
"She didn’t want to seem like that girl that was constantly putting in complaints. She was worried that she’d just be seen as causing drama," Young said.
"She loved the job - the biggest fear was being taken off the team. She was worrying they would just remove her from the situation rather than deal with the issue."
McCready said her daughter had been failed by those responsible for protecting her. “Nothing can undo the devastating loss of our beautiful daughter Jaysley,” she said.
Emma Norton, the solicitor representing Beck’s family, also criticized the Army’s handling of the case: “What an enormous difference it would have made if the Army and its chain of command had just listened to Jaysley when she first told them about the assault and reported it to the police, instead of trying to persuade her it wasn’t that serious.”
Following the inquest, Wiltshire Police were asked to consider criminal charges against Webber, who has since left the Army.
He was formally charged in June and will be sentenced at a later date.
The Army has since apologized to Beck’s family, admitting it “let her down,” and says it has introduced stricter policies to ensure “zero tolerance to unacceptable sexual behaviours.”
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