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An ex- service sergeant has been sentenced to 180 days in custody for attacking a teenage servicewoman who later ended her life.

Sergeant Major the former sergeant, 43, restrained service member Jaysley Beck and sought to make physical contact in July 2021. She was located without signs of life half a year following in her barracks at Larkhill military installation.

The defendant, who was sentenced at the Court Martial Centre in Wiltshire recently, will be transferred to a civilian prison and on the offender database for multiple years.

The victim's mother Leighann Mcready remarked: "His actions, and how the Army neglected to defend our young woman subsequently, resulted in her suicide."

Army Statement

The Army stated it did not listen to Gunner Beck, who was hailing from Oxen Park in Cumbria, when she disclosed the incident and has said sorry for its management of her report.

After a formal inquiry regarding the soldier's suicide, the defendant confessed to one count of physical violation in the autumn.

The mother stated her daughter should have been present with her loved ones in legal proceedings today, "to witness the individual she reported brought to justice for what he did."

"Instead, we are present in her absence, facing perpetual grief that no loved ones should ever experience," she continued.

"She complied with procedures, but those responsible neglected their responsibilities. Such negligence broke our young woman completely."

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Legal Hearing

The legal tribunal was told that the incident occurred during an adventure training exercise at Thorney Island, near Hampshire's Emsworth, in mid-2021.

The sergeant, a senior officer at the time, initiated inappropriate contact towards the servicewoman following an social gathering while on duty for a field training.

The victim stated the accused said he had been "waiting for a moment for them to be in private" before grabbing her leg, pinning her down, and trying to kiss her.

She made official allegations against the sergeant after the assault, despite attempts by military leadership to convince her against reporting.

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

Family Statement

In a statement presented to the judicial body previously, the parent, expressed: "The young woman had only become 19 and will always be a young person full of life and laughter."

"She had faith people to protect her and post-incident, the confidence was gone. She was very upset and scared of Michael Webber."

"I witnessed the difference before my own eyes. She felt vulnerable and abandoned. That incident broke her trust in the system that was meant to protect her."

Sentencing Remarks

During sentencing, Judge Advocate General the magistrate stated: "We must evaluate whether it can be dealt with in an alternative approach. We do not believe it can."

"We have determined the seriousness of the violation means it can only be addressed by prison time."

He told Webber: "The victim had the bravery and wisdom to instruct you to cease and instructed you to go to bed, but you persisted to the point she believed she wouldn't be safe from you even when she retreated to her personal quarters."

He stated further: "The following day, she disclosed the assault to her family, her friends and her military superiors."

"Subsequent to the allegations, the command decided to address your behavior with minimal consequences."

"You were subject to inquiry and you admitted your behavior had been improper. You wrote a written apology."

"Your career continued completely unaffected and you were in due course advanced to higher rank."

Further Details

At the formal inquiry into the tragic passing, the coroner said Capt James Hook pressured her to withdraw the complaint, and only reported it to a military leadership "after information had leaked."

At the time, the sergeant was given a "light disciplinary meeting" with no serious repercussions.

The inquest was additionally informed that only a short time after the incident Gunner Beck had also been subjected to "continuous bullying" by a separate individual.

Another soldier, her line manager, sent her over four thousand six hundred SMS communications expressing emotions for her, accompanied by a 15-page "love story" outlining his "fantasies about her."

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Organizational Reaction

The armed forces said it provided its "heartfelt apologies" to Gunner Beck and her family.

"We remain profoundly sorry for the shortcomings that were identified at the official inquiry in February."

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