A former sergeant major has confessed to sexually assaulting a young female soldier who later took her own life in 2021.
Royal Artillery Gunner Jaysley Beck was discovered deceased at her Wiltshire army base barracks in the UK, in December 2021, after filing a complaint regarding a colleague’s conduct.
She was 19 years old at the time of her death.
Gunner Beck had lodged a complaint against Battery Sergeant Major Michael Webber in July 2021, following an adventure training exercise in Hampshire.
The young soldier accused the officer of grabbing her leg and attempting to kiss her. An inquest into her death earlier this year found that the army’s response to the incident played ‘more than a minimal contributory part in her death’.
Webber admitted to one count of sexual assault during a pre-trial hearing on Friday (September 5) and is now awaiting his sentence.
Following his plea, Gunner Beck’s mother, Leighann McCready, expressed: “We are relieved that Michael Webber has admitted his guilt and not put us through the trauma of yet more legal proceedings, but nothing can undo the devastating loss of our beautiful daughter Jaysley.”
Emma Norton, the attorney representing Gunner Beck’s family, stated: “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.”
Major Robert Ronz was tasked with handling the initial complaint, but he informed the inquest that he considered the incident to be in ‘minor sanction territory’ at the time, opting against a formal investigation.
During the hearing, he noted he was ‘unaware of any physical contact’ due to ‘miscommunication’ within the chain of command.
The outcome might have been different if Ronz had been fully informed, he explained.
A service inquiry report released in October 2023 detailed how Gunner Beck experienced ‘an intense period of unwelcome behavior’ and stated it was ‘almost certain this was a causal factor’ in her death.
The inquest also revealed that Gunner Beck received thousands of messages from another senior colleague, Bombardier Ryan Mason, which reportedly made her feel ‘trapped’ and ‘not safe’ at work, according to Sky News.
The former soldier became ‘freaked out’ by her ‘obsessive’ and ‘psychotic’ superior’s conduct after he sent her over 4,600 messages expressing his feelings for her.
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