A former senior non-commissioned officer has pleaded guilty to sexually assaulting a 19-year-old soldier who was found dead at her barracks in 2021, a case that has prompted criticism of the Army's handling of her complaints.
Former Battery Sergeant Major Michael Webber admitted one count of sexual assault at a pre-trial hearing on Sept. 5, 2025. Webber, who has since left the Army and was later promoted to Warrant Officer 1, is due to be sentenced at a later date.
Royal Artillery Gunner Jaysley Beck was found hanging in her room at Larkhill Camp near Salisbury on Dec. 15, 2021. An inquest in February 2025 concluded she took her own life after reporting to superiors that Webber had pinned her down, tried to kiss her and placed his hand between her legs during a work social event on July 12, 2021.
The inquest heard that Beck spent the night after the incident in her car and made a complaint the following morning while on an adventure training exercise at Thorney Island, near Emsworth in Hampshire. Military records shown at the hearing indicated Webber was given what was described as a "minor administrative action interview" over the incident and faced no further immediate disciplinary consequences; he was promoted in May 2022.
Beck's mother, Leighann McCready, welcomed the guilty plea but said it could not undo the loss of her daughter. "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 following the plea.
McCready told the Sunday Times she had to plead for access to her daughter's accommodation after the death and found a letter from Webber that she said contained a confession describing his behaviour as "absolutely unacceptable" and concluded with, "My door will always open." McCready said her daughter found that phrase dismissive.
The family's lawyer, Emma Norton, reiterated criticisms of the military chain of command, saying senior officers did not alert the police when Beck first reported the assault. "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," Norton said.
It was only after the coroner's February 2025 ruling and a request from Beck's family that Wiltshire Police sent a file to the Service Prosecuting Authority, which led to charges against Webber. The coroner heard evidence of wider inappropriate sexual behaviour directed at female soldiers at Larkhill, including persistent messaging and other interactions that caused Beck distress.
In a statement after the inquest, Brigadier Melissa Emmett, head of Army Personnel Services Group, expressed condolences and apologised for failings identified by the coroner. "We should have done so much more to support and protect her," she said. Brigadier Emmett said the Army had introduced clearer policies stating a zero-tolerance approach to unacceptable sexual behaviours and that changes were being embedded across the service, while acknowledging more work remained to be done.
The case has drawn attention to how allegations of sexual misconduct are handled within the military chain of command and to the processes for referring such matters to civilian authorities. Webber's guilty plea follows a period in which the family's campaign and the coroner's findings prompted renewed scrutiny of those procedures.
Webber has pleaded guilty to one count of sexual assault and will be sentenced at a later hearing. For confidential support, contact Samaritans on 116 123 or visit samaritans.org.