A former Army sergeant major has pleaded guilty to sexually assaulting 19-year-old Royal Artillery Gunner Jaysley Beck, who took her own life after the military failed to properly investigate her complaint and subjected her to further harassment.
Michael Webber, who has since left the Army, admitted one count of sexual assault at a pre-trial hearing on Friday, finally acknowledging he pinned the teenage soldier down and tried to kiss her during a work social event in July 2021. The guilty plea comes more than three years after Gunner Beck was found dead in her barracks at Larkhill, Wiltshire, on 15 December 2021.
An inquest earlier this year found the Army’s mishandling of her sexual assault complaint played “more than a minimal contributory part in her death”, with a coroner concluding that failures to report the assault to police breached Army policy. Webber now awaits sentencing after admitting to the attack that left the young soldier so terrified she spent the night sleeping in her car for safety.
Mother’s Anguish Over Daughter’s Death
Jaysley’s mother, Leighann McCready, expressed relief at Webber’s guilty plea but emphasised nothing could undo their devastating loss. “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,” she said in a statement.
Mrs McCready said her daughter had done “everything right” by reporting the assault “immediately, not once but twice”, despite attempts by superiors to persuade her not to file a complaint. She blamed the Army’s chain of command for failing to report the sexual assault to police, stating: “If they had done that one simple thing, we believe with all our hearts she would still be with us today.
The family’s solicitor, Emma Norton, echoed these sentiments, saying: “What an enormous difference it would have made if the Army and its chain of command had just listened to Jaysley when she first told them about the assault and reported it to the police, instead of trying to persuade her it wasn’t that serious.
The Assault at Thorney Island
The sexual assault occurred during an adventure training exercise at Thorney Island, Hampshire, in July 2021. Following a drinking game called “Last Man Standing”, Battery Sergeant Major Webber, then 39, cornered the teenage gunner. Court documents revealed he attempted to place his hand between her legs whilst pinning her down and trying to kiss her.
A colleague testified that Beck had called her “frightened and in tears” after Webber had “pinned” her down. The teenager was so terrified by the attack that she fled the scene, hid in toilets, then took refuge in her car where she spent the entire night with an open phone call to a friend on night watch for her safety.
Assistant Coroner Nicholas Rheinberg stated during the February inquest: “She was sufficiently terrified to flee the scene after an incident, hide in the toilets, take refuge in the car and remain on the phone to her colleague.”
Chain of Command Failures
The Army’s handling of Gunner Beck’s complaint represented a catastrophic failure at multiple levels. Captain James Hook put pressure on the teenager to drop her allegations, only reporting them to higher command once “the cat was already out of the bag”, according to the inquest findings.
A subsequent “miscommunication” through the chain of command meant crucial details of Webber’s attempt to sexually assault Beck were lost. Instead of being reported to police as required by Army policy, the incident was downgraded and recorded merely as “inappropriate behaviour unbecoming of a warrant officer”.
Webber received only a “minor administrative action interview” with no meaningful consequences. He was required to write an apology letter, which he signed off with “my door is always open”. Despite the complaint against him, Webber was later promoted to Warrant Officer Class 1, the most senior non-commissioned rank in the British Army.
‘Relentless Harassment’ From Line Manager
Adding to Gunner Beck’s trauma, just weeks after the assault she was subjected to what the inquest described as “relentless harassment” by another soldier. Her line manager, Bombardier Ryan Mason, aged 40, bombarded her with more than 4,600 text messages over two months confessing his feelings for her.
Mason sent 1,000 messages in October 2021 and 3,600 in November. He also wrote a 15-page “love story” detailing his “fantasies” about the teenager and booked adjacent hotel rooms during a work trip just a week before she died. The Army later determined Mason’s actions amounted to “unwelcome sexual attention” and “harassment”.
Coroner Nicholas Rheinberg found it “difficult to believe” that Mason had not been manipulating Gunner Beck by demanding her support for his mental health whilst telling her of his thoughts of self-harm and suicide. Beck described Mason’s conduct as “creepy” and “ultimately frightening”, believing he was tracking her location through her phone.
Crucially, Beck did not report Mason’s harassment. The coroner concluded that the Army’s mishandling of the Webber assault had made her reluctant to make another complaint, fearing she would be seen as “the problem: a serial accuser” with no confidence she would be taken seriously.
Coroner’s Damning Findings
The inquest’s conclusions were devastating for the Army. Assistant Coroner Nicholas Rheinberg found “on the balance of probabilities” that Beck’s complaint should have been reported to police and the failure to do so breached Army policy. He determined the assault was improperly dealt with through minor administrative action when it involved “a sexual assault carried out on a 19-year-old Gunner by a middle-aged man of senior rank”.
Most damningly, the coroner concluded: “How Jaysley’s complaint was handled played more than a contributory part in her death.” He also raised concerns that the UK government may have breached the soldier’s right to life under human rights legislation.
The inquest heard from Brigadier Melissa Emmett, head of the Army personnel services group, who formally accepted that failures were made in handling Beck’s case. The Army has since apologised to the family, admitting: “We could have, and should have done more.”
Systemic Problem in Armed Forces
Gunner Beck’s tragic death has exposed the endemic nature of sexual misconduct in Britain’s armed forces. According to the military’s own 2021 sexual harassment survey, 35 per cent of female soldiers in the Army reported experiencing “particularly upsetting” incidents in the previous 12 months, including sexual assault and harassment.
Despite this prevalence, four-fifths of women who experienced serious sexual harassment did not report it to the chain of command or service police. The most common reasons included low confidence in the chain of command and fears that complaints would bring repercussions for the complainant.
A 2021 parliamentary report by the House of Commons Defence Committee declared MPs “alarmed and appalled” at the extent of sexual harassment and assault in the military. The report found that 62 per cent of the 4,106 female veterans and serving personnel who gave evidence had experienced bullying, sexual harassment or discrimination during their careers.
Examples of “truly shocking evidence” included accounts of gang rape, sex for promotion, and competitions to “bag the women” on camps or ships. Some women revealed they were bullied for refusing sexual advances or had witnessed friends being attacked by groups of men but were too afraid to report it.
Criminal Justice Failures
The conviction rate for serious sexual offences in the military justice system is markedly lower than in civilian courts. Military courts achieve just a 23 per cent conviction rate for rape, compared to 70 per cent in civilian courts. Critics argue this disparity creates a culture of impunity where perpetrators are rarely held accountable.
The Centre for Military Justice reports that over 90 per cent of service personnel who experience bullying, harassment or discrimination do not make formal complaints. Of those who do complain, 70 per cent report dissatisfaction with the outcome.
Following Jaysley’s death, it was her family who asked Wiltshire Police to consider criminal proceedings against Webber in February this year. Police then passed a file to the Service Prosecuting Authority in June, who finally brought charges. Had the Army reported the assault to police initially, as required by their own policies, Webber would have faced criminal proceedings years earlier.
Army’s Response and Reforms
The Army claims it has now introduced “clear and unequivocal policies” stating there will be “zero tolerance to unacceptable sexual behaviours”. In March 2025, following public pressure, the military announced it would remove sexual harassment investigations from the chain of command, creating a specialist task force to investigate allegations independently.
However, campaigners argue that cultural change has been slow and inconsistent. Dr Alan Mendoza of the Action on Armed Violence organisation stated that Beck “did everything right” but “the institution failed her at every turn”. He warned that whether this tragedy leads to genuine reform depends on whether military leaders accept that the Army “cannot be both party and arbiter” in cases of sexual misconduct.
Emma Norton from the Centre for Military Justice cautiously welcomed recent changes but raised concerns about implementation, warning that unless the new task force is given full independence from military structures, it risks becoming “another bureaucratic mechanism that fails to deliver real justice for victims”.
A Life Cut Short
Jaysley Beck was just 19 years old when she took her own life, unable to cope with the trauma of sexual assault and the institutional betrayal that followed. She had joined the Royal Artillery with dreams of serving her country, only to be failed by the very institution she sought to serve.
Her case joins a tragic roll call of young servicewomen who have taken their own lives after experiencing sexual violence and harassment in the military. Sophie Madden died by suicide in 2022 after being placed on a vulnerability register following domestic assault. Jayne Hill, also 19, took her own life the same night she believed she was spiked whilst out with Army colleagues.
As Webber awaits sentencing, questions remain about accountability for those in the chain of command who failed to act on Beck’s complaint. Captain James Hook, who pressured her to drop the allegations, and other senior officers who downgraded the assault to minor misconduct, have faced no apparent consequences.
The Fight for Justice Continues
Whilst Webber’s guilty plea brings a measure of legal acknowledgement to what Jaysley endured, her family continues to push for systemic change. They are calling for mandatory reporting of sexual assaults to civilian police, independent oversight of military justice, and accountability for those who fail to protect vulnerable service members.
The Army’s promise of “zero tolerance” rings hollow for a family who lost their daughter because the military chose to protect a sexual predator rather than a teenage soldier who had the courage to speak out. As Leighann McCready poignantly stated, her daughter did everything she was supposed to do, yet the system designed to protect her became complicit in her death.
Jaysley Beck’s legacy should be fundamental reform of how the armed forces handle sexual violence. Until that happens, her death stands as a damning indictment of an institution that claims to defend the nation whilst failing to protect its own most vulnerable members.
Follow for more updates on Britannia Daily
