🔗 Share this article

Family Snapshot

An ex- military sergeant has been sentenced to 180 days in prison for committing sexual assault against a young gunner who afterwards took her own life.

Sergeant Major Michael Webber, 43, pinned down Royal Artillery Gunner the victim and tried to kiss her in mid-2021. She was found dead half a year following in her quarters at Larkhill, Wiltshire.

The defendant, who was given his punishment at the military court in Wiltshire earlier, will be placed in a civilian prison and listed on offender database for a seven-year period.

The victim's mother Leighann Mcready stated: "His actions, and how the military failed to protect our young woman following the incident, resulted in her suicide."

Army Statement

The armed forces stated it did not listen to the servicewoman, who was hailing from the Cumbrian village, when she disclosed the incident and has apologised for its response to her report.

Subsequent to an investigation of the tragic death, Webber confessed to the offense of physical violation in the autumn.

The grieving parent stated her young woman could have been alongside her family in court now, "to observe the man she reported held accountable for his actions."

"Conversely, we stand here in her absence, enduring endless sorrow that no family should be forced to endure," she continued.

"She complied with procedures, but the accountable parties didn't follow theirs. These shortcomings destroyed our daughter utterly."

News Agency

Court Proceedings

The judicial body was told that the assault took place during an field exercise at the training location, near the Hampshire area, in mid-2021.

Webber, a ranking soldier at the period, made a sexual advance towards the soldier following an evening of drinking while on deployment for a military exercise.

The servicewoman claimed the accused remarked he had been "seeking a chance for them to be alone" before taking hold of her, holding her against her will, and making unwanted advances.

She filed a complaint against the accused subsequent to the assault, notwithstanding efforts by superiors to persuade her not to.

An official inquiry into her suicide found the armed forces' response of the complaint played "a significant contributory part in her death."

Parent's Account

In a testimony read out to the judicial body earlier, Ms McCready, expressed: "She had only become 19 and will forever remain a youth full of energy and happiness."

"She trusted individuals to protect her and post-incident, the trust was lost. She was very upset and scared of Michael Webber."

"I observed the transformation firsthand. She felt helpless and deceived. That violation shattered her trust in the structure that was supposed to look after her."

Court Ruling

When announcing the verdict, Judge Advocate General the magistrate stated: "We have to consider whether it can be handled in an alternative approach. We are not convinced it can."

"We have determined the gravity of the offence means it can only be resolved by incarceration."

He addressed the convicted individual: "She had the strength and intelligence to instruct you to cease and told you to go to bed, but you persisted to the point she considered she wouldn't be safe from you despite the fact she returned to her own accommodation."

He added: "The next morning, she made the complaint to her relatives, her friends and her military superiors."

"Following the report, the unit chose to deal with you with minimal consequences."

"You were subject to inquiry and you acknowledged your behavior had been unacceptable. You wrote a apology note."

"Your career continued unimpeded and you were in due course elevated to Warrant Officer 1."

Background Information

At the inquest into the soldier's suicide, the investigating officer said Capt James Hook pressured her to drop the allegations, and only reported it to a military leadership "after information had leaked."

At the time, Webber was given a "light disciplinary meeting" with no additional penalties.

The investigation was also told that mere weeks after the violation the soldier had further been exposed to "continuous bullying" by another soldier.

Bombardier Ryan Mason, her superior officer, directed toward her numerous SMS communications expressing emotions for her, in addition to a fifteen-page "romantic narrative" outlining his "imagined scenarios."

Family handout

Organizational Reaction

The military leadership expressed it extended its "deepest sympathies" to the soldier and her relatives.

"We will always be profoundly sorry for the failings that were discovered at Jaysley's inquest in winter."

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