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An ex- military sergeant has been given half a year in prison for attacking a teenage servicewoman who subsequently took her own life.

Sergeant Major the former sergeant, in his forties, held down Royal Artillery Gunner the victim and sought to force a kiss on her in July 2021. She was located without signs of life several months after in her barracks at Larkhill, Wiltshire.

The defendant, who was sentenced at the legal proceedings in the Wiltshire region previously, will be transferred to a correctional facility and on the sex offenders register for a seven-year period.

The victim's mother the mother commented: "What he [Webber] did, and how the military failed to protect our young woman following the incident, resulted in her suicide."

Army Statement

The armed forces stated it ignored the soldier, who was originally from Cumbria's Oxen Park, when she disclosed the incident and has said sorry for its handling of her allegations.

Subsequent to an inquest into Gunner Beck's death, the accused confessed to the offense of physical violation in September.

The grieving parent commented her young woman ought to have been sitting with her family in legal proceedings this day, "to witness the individual she reported brought to justice for his actions."

"Conversely, we are present in her absence, facing perpetual grief that no relatives should ever have to face," she stated further.

"She complied with procedures, but the individuals in charge failed in their duties. Those failures broke our young woman totally."

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Legal Hearing

The legal tribunal was informed that the assault happened during an military training at Thorney Island, near the Hampshire area, in mid-2021.

The sergeant, a ranking soldier at the moment, initiated inappropriate contact towards the servicewoman after an alcohol consumption while on duty for a field training.

The servicewoman claimed the accused said he had been "seeking a chance for them to be by themselves" before taking hold of her, restraining her, and making unwanted advances.

She reported the incident against Webber subsequent to the incident, notwithstanding efforts by military leadership to persuade her not to.

An inquest into her suicide found the armed forces' response of the report played "an important contributing factor in her demise."

Mother's Testimony

In a statement read out to the court previously, the parent, expressed: "Our daughter had only become 19 and will eternally stay a youth full of vitality and joy."

"She believed authorities to defend her and post-incident, the confidence was lost. She was extremely troubled and fearful of the accused."

"I observed the change before my own eyes. She felt vulnerable and abandoned. That violation destroyed her confidence in the structure that was supposed to protect her."

Court Ruling

When announcing the verdict, The judicial officer the magistrate stated: "We have to consider whether it can be dealt with in an alternative approach. We do not consider it can."

"We conclude the severity of the violation means it can only be dealt with by incarceration."

He addressed the defendant: "She had the strength and intelligence to instruct you to cease and told you to retire for the night, but you continued to the point she felt she wouldn't be safe from you despite the fact she retreated to her own accommodation."

He stated further: "The subsequent morning, she disclosed the assault to her loved ones, her acquaintances and her chain of command."

"After the complaint, the military unit chose to address your behavior with minor administrative action."

"You were interviewed and you admitted your actions had been improper. You composed a written apology."

"Your career advanced without interruption and you were in due course elevated to Warrant Officer 1."

Further Details

At the inquest into the tragic passing, the coroner said military leadership pressured her to drop the allegations, and only reported it to a higher command "when the cat was already out of the bag."

At the moment, the accused was given a "minor administrative action interview" with no serious repercussions.

The inquiry was also told that only a short time after the incident Gunner Beck had additionally been facing "continuous bullying" by another soldier.

A separate service member, her commanding individual, sent her numerous digital communications confessing his feelings for her, along with a 15-page "love story" describing his "fantasies about her."

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Institutional Response

The Army stated it offered its "sincerest condolences" to Gunner Beck and her relatives.

"We continue to be profoundly sorry for the shortcomings that were identified at Jaysley's inquest in February."

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