A former British Army sergeant has admitted that he sexually assaulted young soldier Jaysley Beck, whose tragic death in 2021 was later linked to the Army’s failure to properly handle her complaint.
Jaysley, only 19 years old and serving as a Royal Artillery gunner, was found dead in her barracks at Larkhill, Wiltshire, on December 15, 2021. This happened not long after she had reported Battery Sergeant Major Michael Webber for behaving inappropriately toward her.
Webber, who has since left the Army, admitted in court that he assaulted Jaysley at a social event. He pinned her down and tried to kiss her without her consent. At an earlier inquest, it was found that the Army’s poor handling of her complaint played a serious role in what happened to her later.
Her mother, Leighann McCready, said she was glad Webber had finally admitted the truth because it meant the family would not have to go through a long trial. But she also made clear that nothing could ever replace their daughter. We are relieved he admitted guilt, but our beautiful daughter is gone forever, and no apology can fix that, she said.
The inquest showed that Jaysley reported the assault immediately, and she raised the issue more than once. Instead of supporting her, some senior officers tried to convince her to drop the complaint. One officer, Captain James Hook, was even found to have pressured her to stay quiet. He only passed the information higher up the chain of command when the story was already spreading informally.
Even worse, some important details of Jaysley’s account, such as Webber trying to put his hand between her legs were left out when her complaint was written down. Instead, the incident was watered down and described as merely inappropriate behaviour unbecoming of a warrant officer. At that time, Webber only received a light, administrative interview and faced no real consequences.
Sadly, things did not end there for Jaysley. In the weeks after the assault, she faced constant harassment from another soldier, her line manager Bombardier Ryan Mason. He bombarded her with more than 4,600 text messages and even wrote her a 15-page love story, showing an unhealthy and obsessive interest in her.
Her mother said Jaysley had done everything she could: she reported the assault, she followed the rules, and she trusted the system. But at every step, the Army let her down. If the Army had simply reported the assault to police when Jaysley first told them, we truly believe she would still be alive today, her mother said.
After the inquest, Wiltshire Police re-examined the case and passed it to the Service Prosecuting Authority, which later brought charges against Webber.
The Army has since apologized to Jaysley’s family. Leaders admitted that they could have and should have done more.They also said that new rules are now in place, with a zero-tolerance policy for sexual misconduct.
Emma Norton, the family’s lawyer, welcomed Webber’s guilty plea but strongly criticized the Army’s first response. It could have made such a huge difference if the chain of command had listened to Jaysley right from the start and taken her complaint seriously, she said.
