🔗 Share this article

Personal Photograph

An ex- service sergeant has been sentenced to half a year in prison for sexually assaulting a teenage servicewoman who later took her own life.

Sergeant Major Michael Webber, forty-three, restrained soldier the victim and sought to make physical contact in mid-2021. She was discovered deceased half a year following in her quarters at the Wiltshire base.

The convicted individual, who was sentenced at the military court in Wiltshire previously, will be transferred to a civilian prison and listed on offender database for a seven-year period.

The victim's mother Leighann Mcready stated: "What he [Webber] did, and how the Army did not safeguard our child following the incident, resulted in her suicide."

Army Statement

The armed forces stated it ignored the soldier, who was hailing from the Cumbrian village, when she filed the complaint and has apologised for its response to her complaint.

Subsequent to an inquest into the tragic death, the accused admitted to one count of sexual assault in the autumn.

The grieving parent commented her child should have been sitting with her family in legal proceedings today, "to observe the man she reported brought to justice for the assault."

"Instead, we appear missing her, living a life sentence that no loved ones should be forced to endure," she added.

"She followed the rules, but the individuals in charge didn't follow theirs. Those failures shattered our child totally."

News Agency

Judicial Process

The legal tribunal was advised that the incident took place during an military training at the training location, near Hampshire's Emsworth, in mid-2021.

The accused, a Sergeant Major at the moment, attempted physical intimacy towards the servicewoman following an evening of drinking while on assignment for a military exercise.

The servicewoman claimed the accused said he had been "seeking a chance for them to be by themselves" before grabbing her leg, restraining her, and trying to kiss her.

She made official allegations against the sergeant following the incident, notwithstanding efforts by commanding officers to persuade her not to.

An official inquiry into her death found the military's management of the allegations played "a significant contributing factor in her suicide."

Parent's Account

In a account presented to the tribunal earlier, Ms McCready, expressed: "Our daughter had just turned 19 and will always be a teenager full of energy and happiness."

"She believed people to defend her and after what he did, the faith was lost. She was extremely troubled and terrified of the sergeant."

"I observed the transformation firsthand. She felt powerless and betrayed. That assault shattered her trust in the set-up that was supposed to protect her."

Judge's Statement

While delivering judgment, The judicial officer Alan Large said: "We need to assess whether it can be addressed in an alternative approach. We do not believe it can."

"We have determined the gravity of the crime means it can only be resolved by immediate custody."

He spoke to the defendant: "The servicewoman had the bravery and wisdom to tell you to stop and directed you to retire for the night, but you carried on to the degree she felt she could not feel secure from you even when she went back to her personal quarters."

He added: "The following day, she disclosed the assault to her relatives, her friends and her commanding officers."

"After the complaint, the command chose to deal with you with light disciplinary measures."

"You were interviewed and you admitted your behavior had been unacceptable. You wrote a letter of apology."

"Your career proceeded without interruption and you were eventually advanced to higher rank."

Background Information

At the inquest into the soldier's suicide, the investigating officer said Capt James Hook pressured her to cease proceedings, and only reported it to a superior officers "once details became known."

At the period, Webber was given a "minimal consequence discussion" with no additional penalties.

The inquiry was further advised that only a short time after the incident the servicewoman had also been exposed to "relentless harassment" by another soldier.

Another soldier, her commanding individual, directed toward her more than 4,600 digital communications confessing his feelings for her, along with a fifteen-page "romantic narrative" describing his "personal thoughts."

Family handout

Organizational Reaction

The armed forces stated it provided its "sincerest condolences" to Gunner Beck and her family.

"We continue to be sincerely regretful for the deficiencies that were noted at the formal investigation in winter."

"{The end of|The conclusion of|The completion