Former Army officer admits sexually assaulting teenage soldier months before her death

A former senior non-commissioned Army officer has admitted sexually assaulting a teenage soldier who later took her own life.

Warrant Officer Michael Webber pleaded guilty at the Court Martial Centre in Bulford, Wiltshire, to assaulting Royal Artillery Gunner Jaysley Beck, a court official confirmed.

He will be sentenced on October 31.

The 19-year-old soldier, from Cumbria, was found hanged at Larkhill Camp in Wiltshire on December 15 2021 – five months after the incident.

During an inquest into her death, Coroner Nicholas Rheinberg ruled that “on the balance of probabilities” she had been sexually assaulted by a senior colleague, and the Army’s failure to take appropriate action “more than minimally” contributed to her death.

The coroner added that Gunner Beck’s complaint about being sexually assaulted on a stay during a training exercise at Thorney Island in Hampshire “should have been reported to police and the failure to do so breached Army policy”.

The inquest heard Gunner Beck had made a complaint against Webber following the adventure training exercise in July 2021.

She had said that he had “made a pass” at her, put his hand between her legs and “pinned her down” while trying to kiss her, the hearing was told.

Gunner Beck, who joined the Army at 16, had been left scared by the incident and ended up sleeping in her car for safety, the inquest was told.

Webber declined to answer questions at the inquest.

Following his guilty plea, Leighann McCready, Gunner Beck’s mother, said: “We are relieved that Michael Webber has admitted his guilt and not put us through the trauma of yet more legal proceedings, but nothing can undo the devastating loss of our beautiful daughter Jaysley.

“It’s hard to believe it has taken so long for there to be any accountability for this crime. Jaysley did everything right.

“She reported the assault immediately, not once but twice. First to her captain who dismissed and dissuaded her from going further.

“And even then, she went over his head and reported it up the chain. But her chain of command still failed her.

“They did not do what the rules at the time required them to do – which was to report it to the police.

“If they had done that one simple thing, we believe with all our hearts she would still be with us today.

“But because they didn’t, she lost faith that she would be believed or supported the next time she needed help – which was just a few weeks later when another senior male started harassing her too. By this point she felt she had nowhere to turn.

“After Jaysley’s death, we’ve tried hard to get to the bottom of what happened. No-one was listening.

“Thankfully, the coroner listened to us and held a thorough and full inquiry, concluding among other things that Jaysley had been sexually assaulted after all, something we never doubted.

“Even after that, we had to formally request that the matter should be treated as a crime. If we hadn’t done that, we wouldn’t be here today.”

Emma Norton, solicitor for the family, added: “It’s an enormous relief that the man that assaulted Jaysley has pleaded guilty.

“At least the family doesn’t now have to go through a trial on top of everything else.

“But what a difference it would have made if the Army by, which I mean Jaysley’s chain of command, had just listened to Jaysley when she told them about the assault the morning it happened and reported it to the police – instead of trying to persuade her that it wasn’t that serious, and to think about the impact on her assailant’s career and family.

“What an outrageous, unconscionable thing to have done and what awful consequences it has had.

“The family is still waiting for answers to questions that were put to the Army after the inquest about what if anything is being done to address those shocking wider failings”.

After the inquest, the Army said it “should have done so much more to support and protect” Gunner Beck.

In a statement issued on Monday, a Ministry of Defence spokesman said: “Following an investigation by the Defence Serious Crime Command, we can confirm that former WO1 Michael Webber pleaded guilty to a single charge of sexual assault and will be sentenced on October 31 2025 at Bulford Military Court Centre.”