Ex- Sergeant Major Jailed for Sexual Assault on Young Servicewoman

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A former military sergeant has been sentenced to six months in jail for committing sexual assault against a 19-year-old soldier who later died by suicide.

Sergeant Major Michael Webber, 43, held down soldier the young woman and attempted to force a kiss on her in mid-2021. She was located without signs of life five months later in her barracks at Larkhill military installation.

The defendant, who was sentenced at the Court Martial Centre in Wiltshire earlier, will be placed in a correctional facility and registered as sexual offenders list for a seven-year period.

The family matriarch the mother stated: "The assault, and how the Army failed to protect our child subsequently, resulted in her suicide."

Official Reaction

The military leadership said it failed to hear Gunner Beck, who was hailing from Cumbria's Oxen Park, when she reported the assault and has apologised for its handling of her report.

Following an inquest into Gunner Beck's death, Webber pleaded guilty to one count of physical violation in the autumn.

The mother commented her daughter could have been alongside her family in legal proceedings today, "to see the man she filed against held accountable for his actions."

"Instead, we stand here missing her, enduring endless sorrow that no loved ones should be forced to endure," she stated further.

"She followed the rules, but the individuals in charge failed in their duties. Such negligence broke our young woman utterly."

Press Association

Judicial Process

The judicial body was advised that the incident took place during an adventure training exercise at the training location, near Emsworth in Hampshire, in July 2021.

Webber, a senior officer at the time, made a sexual advance towards the servicewoman following an alcohol consumption while on assignment for a field training.

Gunner Beck claimed the sergeant said he had been "seeking a chance for them to be by themselves" before grabbing her leg, pinning her down, and trying to kiss her.

She filed a complaint against the accused after the violation, despite attempts by commanding officers to discourage her.

An official inquiry into her death found the military's management of the report played "a significant contributory part in her demise."

Parent's Account

In a statement shared to the tribunal earlier, the parent, expressed: "The young woman had only become nineteen and will eternally stay a teenager full of life and laughter."

"She believed authorities to defend her and following the assault, the trust was lost. She was very upset and fearful of Michael Webber."

"I observed the difference before my own eyes. She felt powerless and betrayed. That violation broke her faith in the system that was supposed to protect her."

Court Ruling

While delivering judgment, Judge Advocate General the judge remarked: "We need to assess whether it can be addressed in an alternative approach. We do not believe it can."

"We have determined the gravity of the crime means it can only be dealt with by incarceration."

He told the defendant: "The victim had the courage and good sense to instruct you to cease and instructed you to retire for the night, but you persisted to the extent she believed she wouldn't be safe from you even if she retreated to her own accommodation."

He stated further: "The next morning, she made the complaint to her loved ones, her friends and her commanding officers."

"After the complaint, the command decided to deal with you with minimal consequences."

"You were interviewed and you admitted your behavior had been improper. You wrote a letter of apology."

"Your professional path advanced unimpeded and you were in due course advanced to higher rank."

Additional Context

At the inquest into Gunner Beck's death, the coroner said a commanding officer put pressure on her to withdraw the complaint, and merely disclosed it to a military leadership "when the cat was already out of the bag."

At the time, the sergeant was given a "light disciplinary meeting" with no further consequences.

The investigation was additionally informed that mere weeks after the incident the soldier had additionally been exposed to "continuous bullying" by a different service member.

A separate service member, her line manager, transmitted to her numerous digital communications declaring attachments for her, along with a 15-page "love story" outlining his "imagined scenarios."

Family handout

Institutional Response

The armed forces stated it offered its "sincerest condolences" to the servicewoman and her relatives.

"We remain sincerely regretful for the failings that were discovered at the formal investigation in winter."

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