A former British Army warrant officer has been sentenced to six months in prison for sexually assaulting a 19-year-old female soldier who later took her own life. Michael Webber, 43, pleaded guilty to abusing Gunner Jaysley Beck during a stay at Thorney Island, Hampshire, in July 2021.
The assault occurred during a drinking game called 'Last Man Standing', when Webber touched her thigh and attempted to kiss her. Gunner Beck rejected him and locked herself in her car before reporting the incident to superiors the following morning. However, the matter was not reported to police, and Webber was dealt with by a minor administrative action, including writing a letter of apology.
Gunner Beck was found hanged in her room at Larkhill Camp, Wiltshire, on December 15, 2021, five months after the assault. At her inquest in 2025, Assistant Coroner Nicholas Rheinberg stated that the Army's failure to act made a 'more than minimal' contribution to her death.
Speaking outside Bulford Military Court Centre, her mother, Leighann McCready, criticised the Army's handling of the case, saying: 'No sentence would be good enough. What he did and how the Army failed to protect her afterwards cost our daughter her life.' She urged potential recruits: 'Don't join the Army.'
Judge Advocate General Alan Large, sentencing Webber, noted that Gunner Beck 'had the courage and good sense to tell you to stop', but Webber persisted. Webber, who served for 22 years before leaving the Army this year, was also placed on the sex offenders register for seven years.
