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An ex- military sergeant has been ordered to serve half a year in prison for committing sexual assault against a teenage servicewoman who afterwards took her own life.

Warrant Officer Michael Webber, forty-three, held down Royal Artillery Gunner the young woman and tried to force a kiss on her in the summer of 2021. She was discovered deceased several months after in her barracks at Larkhill military installation.

The defendant, who was sentenced at the military court in the Wiltshire region earlier, will be sent to a civilian prison and registered as offender database for a seven-year period.

The family matriarch the mother commented: "What he [Webber] did, and how the armed forces did not safeguard our young woman afterwards, led to her death."

Army Statement

The Army stated it failed to hear the soldier, who was a native of Cumbria's Oxen Park, when she disclosed the incident and has apologised for its management of her complaint.

Subsequent to an inquest into Gunner Beck's death, the accused pleaded guilty to a single charge of physical violation in September.

The grieving parent commented her young woman could have been present with her relatives in legal proceedings this day, "to witness the individual she accused held accountable for his actions."

"Rather, we appear in her absence, facing perpetual grief that no relatives should ever have to face," she added.

"She complied with procedures, but the individuals in charge didn't follow theirs. Those failures broke our young woman utterly."

PA

Legal Hearing

The court was informed that the violation occurred during an adventure training exercise at the training location, near Hampshire's Emsworth, in summer 2021.

The accused, a senior officer at the period, made a sexual advance towards the servicewoman after an alcohol consumption while on deployment for a training exercise.

The victim testified Webber said he had been "waiting for a moment for them to be by themselves" before grabbing her leg, restraining her, and trying to kiss her.

She filed a complaint against the sergeant following the violation, regardless of pressure by military leadership to convince her against reporting.

An inquest into her suicide found the armed forces' response of the report played "more than a minimal contributing factor in her demise."

Family Statement

In a account shared to the judicial body earlier, the mother, stated: "She had only become nineteen and will eternally stay a young person full of vitality and joy."

"She believed authorities to protect her and post-incident, the faith was shattered. She was extremely troubled and terrified of the accused."

"I saw the transformation firsthand. She felt powerless and betrayed. That incident shattered her confidence in the set-up that was supposed to protect her."

Judge's Statement

When announcing the verdict, The presiding judge the judge said: "We need to assess whether it can be dealt with in an alternative approach. We do not consider it can."

"We are satisfied the seriousness of the crime means it can only be addressed by prison time."

He told the convicted individual: "The servicewoman had the strength and intelligence to tell you to stop and told you to retire for the night, but you continued to the degree she felt she wouldn't be safe from you even if she went back to her own accommodation."

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

"Following the report, the command decided to handle the situation with light disciplinary measures."

"You were interviewed and you acknowledged your conduct had been inappropriate. You wrote a letter of apology."

"Your career continued completely unaffected and you were eventually promoted to higher rank."

Background Information

At the formal inquiry into the tragic passing, the coroner said Capt James Hook influenced her to withdraw the complaint, and only reported it to a higher command "once details became known."

At the period, the accused was given a "minimal consequence discussion" with no further consequences.

The investigation was also told that only a short time after the assault Gunner Beck had further been exposed to "relentless harassment" by a different service member.

A separate service member, her superior officer, sent her numerous digital communications declaring attachments for her, in addition to a fifteen-page "love story" detailing his "imagined scenarios."

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Official Statement

The Army said it provided its "deepest sympathies" to Gunner Beck and her family.

"We continue to be sincerely regretful for the deficiencies that were identified at the formal investigation in early this year."

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