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A former service sergeant has been ordered to serve 180 days in custody for attacking a teenage servicewoman who later died by suicide.

Warrant Officer the former sergeant, 43, pinned down Royal Artillery Gunner the victim and sought to kiss her in the summer of 2021. She was discovered deceased five months later in her military accommodation at Larkhill, Wiltshire.

Webber, who was given his punishment at the military court in the Wiltshire region recently, will be sent to a civilian prison and registered as sex offenders register for multiple years.

The victim's mother the mother commented: "The assault, and how the armed forces failed to protect our young woman subsequently, cost Jaysley her life."

Official Reaction

The military leadership acknowledged it failed to hear Gunner Beck, who was originally from Cumbria's Oxen Park, when she disclosed the incident and has expressed regret for its response to her complaint.

Following an investigation of the soldier's suicide, the defendant pleaded guilty to a single charge of unwanted sexual advance in the autumn.

The mother said her young woman ought to have been present with her relatives in legal proceedings today, "to witness the person she filed against facing consequences for his actions."

"Instead, we are present in her absence, living a life sentence that no family should be forced to endure," she continued.

"She adhered to protocols, but the individuals in charge didn't follow theirs. Those failures destroyed our daughter utterly."

PA

Judicial Process

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

Webber, a ranking soldier at the time, attempted physical intimacy towards Gunner Beck following an alcohol consumption while on deployment for a field training.

Gunner Beck claimed the sergeant remarked he had been "anticipating an opportunity for them to be in private" before making physical contact, pinning her down, and making unwanted advances.

She made official allegations against the accused following the assault, regardless of pressure by commanding officers to persuade her not to.

An inquest into her death found the armed forces' response of the complaint played "an important role in her demise."

Mother's Testimony

In a testimony read out to the judicial body earlier, the parent, stated: "The young woman had just turned a teenager and will always be a youth full of energy and happiness."

"She had faith individuals to defend her and post-incident, the faith was lost. She was extremely troubled and terrified of the accused."

"I witnessed the transformation personally. She felt vulnerable and abandoned. That incident destroyed her confidence in the set-up that was supposed to look after her."

Sentencing Remarks

When announcing the verdict, The presiding judge the judge stated: "We must evaluate whether it can be addressed in another way. We do not believe it can."

"We are satisfied the severity of the offence means it can only be resolved by incarceration."

He spoke to the convicted individual: "She had the courage and good sense to tell you to stop and directed you to retire for the night, but you continued to the degree she felt she would remain in danger from you even when she retreated to her own accommodation."

He continued: "The following day, she disclosed the assault to her family, her friends and her military superiors."

"After the complaint, the military unit opted to handle the situation with minimal consequences."

"You were interviewed and you admitted your actions had been inappropriate. You composed a written apology."

"Your career proceeded unimpeded and you were eventually advanced to senior position."

Further Details

At the inquest into the soldier's suicide, the investigating officer said Capt James Hook influenced her to withdraw the complaint, and merely disclosed it to a superior officers "once details became known."

At the time, the sergeant was given a "minimal consequence discussion" with no serious repercussions.

The inquest was further advised that only a short time after the assault Gunner Beck had additionally been subjected to "relentless harassment" by another soldier.

Bombardier Ryan Mason, her line manager, transmitted to her over four thousand six hundred SMS communications confessing his feelings for her, along with a fifteen-page "personal account" describing his "imagined scenarios."

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Organizational Reaction

The armed forces said it offered its "deepest sympathies" to the servicewoman and her family.

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

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