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Family Snapshot

A former service sergeant has been given half a year in prison for attacking a young gunner who later took her own life.

Sergeant Major Michael Webber, 43, pinned down soldier the young woman and tried to kiss her in mid-2021. She was located without signs of life half a year following in her military accommodation at Larkhill, Wiltshire.

The defendant, who was given his punishment at the Court Martial Centre in Wiltshire recently, will be transferred to a public jail and registered as sexual offenders list for a seven-year period.

The family matriarch Leighann Mcready commented: "His actions, and how the armed forces neglected to defend our child subsequently, led to her death."

Military Response

The military leadership acknowledged it ignored the soldier, who was hailing from Oxen Park in Cumbria, when she filed the complaint and has said sorry for its response to her allegations.

Subsequent to an investigation of the tragic death, the defendant pleaded guilty to a single charge of physical violation in the autumn.

Ms McCready stated her young woman should have been alongside her family in court today, "to witness the man she accused brought to justice for what he did."

"Instead, we are present in her absence, enduring endless sorrow that no relatives should ever experience," she added.

"She adhered to protocols, but those responsible neglected their responsibilities. Those failures destroyed our daughter totally."

Press Association

Legal Hearing

The judicial body was informed that the incident occurred during an field exercise at Thorney Island, near Hampshire's Emsworth, in summer 2021.

The sergeant, a ranking soldier at the moment, attempted physical intimacy towards Gunner Beck after an evening of drinking while on assignment for a field training.

Gunner Beck claimed the sergeant said he had been "waiting for a moment for them to be by themselves" before taking hold of her, pinning her down, and trying to kiss her.

She reported the incident against Webber after the incident, notwithstanding efforts by military leadership to discourage her.

An inquest into her suicide found the military's management of the allegations played "more than a minimal contributing factor in her death."

Parent's Account

In a account read out to the judicial body during proceedings, the parent, expressed: "Our daughter had only become 19 and will forever remain a young person full of energy and happiness."

"She trusted authorities to safeguard her and after what he did, the faith was shattered. She was extremely troubled and terrified of the sergeant."

"I witnessed the change personally. She felt helpless and deceived. That violation broke her trust in the set-up that was supposed to look after her."

Sentencing Remarks

While delivering judgment, The presiding judge Alan Large stated: "We must evaluate whether it can be addressed in another way. We do not consider it can."

"We have determined the severity of the crime means it can only be addressed by prison time."

He spoke to the defendant: "She had the strength and intelligence to demand you halt and told you to retire for the night, but you persisted to the point she believed she could not feel secure from you even if she returned to her personal quarters."

He stated further: "The next morning, she made the complaint to her loved ones, her acquaintances and her chain of command."

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

"You were subject to inquiry and you accepted your actions had been inappropriate. You wrote a apology note."

"Your professional path advanced completely unaffected and you were subsequently promoted to Warrant Officer 1."

Further Details

At the formal inquiry into the tragic passing, the official examiner said Capt James Hook put pressure on her to withdraw the complaint, and only reported it to a superior officers "once details became known."

At the moment, Webber was given a "minor administrative action interview" with no additional penalties.

The inquiry was also told that only a short time after the violation Gunner Beck had additionally been exposed to "continuous bullying" by another soldier.

A separate service member, her superior officer, transmitted to her over four thousand six hundred text messages declaring attachments for her, accompanied by a 15-page "personal account" detailing his "personal thoughts."

Personal collection

Organizational Reaction

The armed forces said it provided its "deepest sympathies" to the soldier and her relatives.

"We remain profoundly sorry for the deficiencies that were discovered at the official inquiry in winter."

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