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Family Snapshot

An ex- service sergeant has been ordered to serve six months in custody for sexually assaulting a teenage servicewoman who subsequently ended her life.

Warrant Officer the former sergeant, 43, restrained soldier Jaysley Beck and attempted to force a kiss on her in the summer of 2021. She was discovered deceased several months after in her military accommodation at the Wiltshire base.

The convicted individual, who was given his punishment at the military court in the Wiltshire region recently, will be placed in a correctional facility and on the sexual offenders list for a seven-year period.

Gunner Beck's mother the mother commented: "What he [Webber] did, and how the Army neglected to defend our daughter afterwards, resulted in her suicide."

Official Reaction

The armed forces said it did not listen to Gunner Beck, who was originally from Oxen Park in Cumbria, when she disclosed the incident and has said sorry for its handling of her complaint.

Subsequent to a formal inquiry regarding the tragic death, the accused confessed to a single charge of physical violation in last fall.

The mother said her young woman should have been sitting with her family in court today, "to see the person she filed against facing consequences for his actions."

"Rather, we are present missing her, enduring endless sorrow that no loved ones should ever have to face," she added.

"She complied with procedures, but the accountable parties didn't follow theirs. These shortcomings broke our young woman totally."

PA

Judicial Process

The legal tribunal was told that the incident happened during an military training at the training location, near Emsworth in Hampshire, in summer 2021.

Webber, a ranking soldier at the time, initiated inappropriate contact towards the servicewoman following an social gathering while on assignment for a military exercise.

The servicewoman stated the accused stated he had been "anticipating an opportunity for them to be alone" before grabbing her leg, pinning her down, and attempting to force intimacy.

She made official allegations against Webber subsequent to the incident, regardless of pressure by commanding officers to discourage her.

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

Family Statement

In a account presented to the tribunal during proceedings, the parent, said: "The young woman had just turned nineteen and will forever remain a teenager full of vitality and joy."

"She trusted authorities to defend her and after what he did, the trust was gone. She was extremely troubled and scared of the sergeant."

"I saw the difference personally. She felt helpless and deceived. That incident destroyed her confidence in the structure that was intended to safeguard her."

Court Ruling

During sentencing, Judge Advocate General the judge remarked: "We have to consider whether it can be handled in an alternative approach. We do not consider it can."

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

He spoke to the convicted individual: "The victim had the courage and good sense to demand you halt and told you to go to bed, but you continued to the point she believed she would remain in danger from you despite the fact she retreated to her own accommodation."

He continued: "The next morning, she made the complaint to her family, her acquaintances and her military superiors."

"Following the report, the command chose to handle the situation with minor administrative action."

"You underwent questioning and you admitted your actions had been unacceptable. You wrote a letter of apology."

"Your military service advanced completely unaffected and you were in due course advanced to higher rank."

Additional Context

At the formal inquiry into the tragic passing, the investigating officer said Capt James Hook pressured her to drop the allegations, and only reported it to a higher command "once details became known."

At the time, the accused was given a "light disciplinary meeting" with no serious repercussions.

The inquiry was also told that mere weeks after the violation Gunner Beck had further been facing "persistent mistreatment" by a different service member.

Another soldier, her line manager, directed toward her more than 4,600 SMS communications confessing his feelings for her, along with a fifteen-page "personal account" outlining his "imagined scenarios."

Personal collection

Organizational Reaction

The armed forces expressed it provided its "deepest sympathies" to Gunner Beck and her relatives.

"We remain sincerely regretful for the failings that were discovered at the official inquiry in early this year."

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