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A former Army sergeant major has been ordered to serve six months in custody for sexually assaulting a teenage servicewoman who subsequently took her own life.

Sergeant Major the former sergeant, forty-three, pinned down service member Jaysley Beck and attempted to make physical contact in July 2021. She was discovered deceased half a year following in her quarters at Larkhill, Wiltshire.

Webber, who was judged at the military court in Wiltshire earlier, will be placed in a public jail and registered as sexual offenders list for seven years.

The family matriarch Ms. Mcready remarked: "His actions, and how the military failed to protect our daughter subsequently, led to her death."

Official Reaction

The Army said it failed to hear the soldier, who was a native of Cumbria's Oxen Park, when she disclosed the incident and has apologised for its handling of her complaint.

After a formal inquiry regarding the tragic death, Webber confessed to one count of unwanted sexual advance in the autumn.

The mother commented her young woman could have been alongside her relatives in the courtroom now, "to witness the individual she filed against facing consequences for the assault."

"Instead, we are present without her, enduring endless sorrow that no loved ones should ever have to face," she stated further.

"She complied with procedures, but those responsible failed in their duties. Those failures broke our young woman utterly."

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Judicial Process

The court was informed that the incident occurred during an adventure training exercise at the training location, near Hampshire's Emsworth, in July 2021.

Webber, a senior officer at the period, made a sexual advance towards the servicewoman after an social gathering while on assignment for a military exercise.

Gunner Beck stated Webber stated he had been "seeking a chance for them to be in private" before grabbing her leg, restraining her, and attempting to force intimacy.

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

A formal investigation into her death found the armed forces' response of the complaint played "more than a minimal contributing factor in her demise."

Parent's Account

In a statement shared to the court during proceedings, the mother, said: "The young woman had only become nineteen and will eternally stay a teenager full of life and laughter."

"She believed people to safeguard her and following the assault, the trust was shattered. She was very upset and terrified of the accused."

"I saw the difference before my own eyes. She felt powerless and betrayed. That assault destroyed her confidence in the system that was supposed to protect her."

Sentencing Remarks

When announcing the verdict, The presiding judge the magistrate remarked: "We have to consider whether it can be addressed in another way. We do not believe it can."

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

He told the convicted individual: "The servicewoman had the bravery and wisdom to demand you halt and instructed you to leave the area, but you continued to the point she felt she wouldn't be safe from you even when she went back to her assigned barracks."

He added: "The following day, she reported the incident to her relatives, her friends and her chain of command."

"Following the report, the military unit decided to deal with you with light disciplinary measures."

"You underwent questioning and you acknowledged your conduct had been inappropriate. You composed a letter of apology."

"Your professional path advanced unimpeded and you were in due course promoted to Warrant Officer 1."

Further Details

At the inquest into the soldier's suicide, the coroner said military leadership influenced her to drop the allegations, and only reported it to a military leadership "once details became known."

At the time, the sergeant was given a "minor administrative action interview" with no further consequences.

The inquiry was also told that mere weeks after the incident the soldier had also been exposed to "relentless harassment" by another soldier.

Bombardier Ryan Mason, her line manager, sent her more than 4,600 SMS communications expressing emotions for her, in addition to a fifteen-page "personal account" detailing his "fantasies about her."

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Institutional Response

The military leadership expressed it extended its "heartfelt apologies" to the servicewoman and her family.

"We remain profoundly sorry for the deficiencies that were identified at the official inquiry in February."

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