Overview
- Michael Webber, 43, was sentenced at Bulford to six months in prison for sexually assaulting Gunner Jaysley Beck, ordered to serve half in custody and placed on the sex offenders register for seven years.
- Webber admitted assaulting Beck during a July 2021 training stay on Thorney Island, where he tried to kiss her and touched her thigh, prompting her to hide and sleep in her car before reporting the incident.
- The unit initially treated the complaint as a minor administrative matter, securing only a letter of apology for Beck and no police referral, and Webber’s career continued with promotion.
- After a February inquest found the Army’s failures breached policy and contributed to Beck’s 2021 suicide, Wiltshire Police reviewed the case, the Service Prosecuting Authority brought charges, and Webber pleaded guilty in September.
- Beck’s family and advocates renewed calls for independent reporting and investigations outside the chain of command, as the Army issued apologies and pointed to reform efforts and new processes for handling serious complaints.