Jersey Unreported Judgments

Inferior Number Sentencing - drunk and disorderly - larceny - exposing person - grave and criminal assault.

[2014]JRC230

Royal Court

(Samedi)

21 November 2014

The Attorney General

-v-

Immanuel Belhomme

Sentencing by the Inferior Number of the Royal Court, following guilty pleas to the following charges:

Age:  21.

Plea: Guilty.

Details of Offence:

Drunk, the defendant stole an unattended child's bicycle and tried to ride home, verbally abusing a parish warden and a policeman (Counts 1 and 2).  Was then warned for a Parish Hall Enquiry.  The defendant then waved his penis at a group of young women (Count 4), whilst drunk and disorderly (Count 3); kicked a passing vehicle, grappled the driver to the ground, twice punched his face, kicked his midriff and neck, and was restrained by bystanders (count 5).  Denied latter offences in interview. 

Details of Mitigation:

Pleas; youth; difficulties in background. 

Previous Convictions:

Thirteen previous convictions including three instances of disorderliness; larceny and affray in 2009. 

Conclusions:

Total: Counts 1, 2, 3 and 4 to run concurrently to Count 5 making a total of 12 months' imprisonment. 

The Crown invites the Court to exercise its power under Article 4 to order that the defendant not be subject to the notification requirements of the Sex Offenders (Jersey) Law 2010.

Exclusion Order sought excluding the defendant from 1^st, 2^nd, 4^th, 5^th and 7^th category licensed premises excluding the Multiplex Cinema, the Jersey Arts Centre, Jersey Airport, the ferry terminal at Elizabeth Harbour and the Opera House for a period of 18 months' from today's date.

Sentence and Observations of Court:

Conclusions granted. 

D. J. Hopwood, Esq., Crown Advocate.

Advocate M. J. Haines for the Defendant.

JUDGMENT

THE DEPUTY BAILIFF:

1.        You are here to be sentenced on an Indictment containing five charges.  They are brought in respect of your actions on two separate occasions.  In March you were drunk and disorderly when confronted by a parish warden swearing at him in a drunken state.  You had stolen a child's bicycle.  On the second occasion, on 3^rd July, you were drunk and confronted a group of young women, threatening the dog of one of them.  You exposed your penis to them, waggling it about and saying "Come on, I'll do you."  You then committed a grave and criminal assault; it was entirely unprovoked.  You wrestled the victim to the ground, kicked him twice, once in the neck and once above the hip, punched him twice in the face; third parties had to pull you off him and restrain you until the police arrived and there is no indication that the assault would have stopped had they not done so. 

2.        There has been a victim personal statement which we have read and we understand from your counsel you have not yet read and we suggest that you do so, so that you understand the consequences of your assault on him and how those have continuing effects even now.  Although you were initially uncooperative in the police investigation, you have pleaded guilty and we, of course, take that very much into account. 

3.        We have given careful thought to the terms of the Criminal Justice (Young Offenders)(Jersey) Law 1994 because we are treating you as though you are today under the age of 21 and under the terms of that law the Court is not to send you to a prison or a young offender detention centre unless the terms of Article 4 of that law are met and we accept that Article 4(2)(a) and 4(2)(b) are not met.  So what we have had to consider is whether the offending which you have committed is so serious that no other way of dealing with you is appropriate. 

4.        We think that it is.  We think that this grave and criminal assault committed by you in a drunken way and completely unprovoked on a member of the public, kicking him on the ground, kicking him to the neck such that the assault continued until you were pulled off by third parties, is too serious for you not to receive a custodial sentence.  We entirely accept that the problems in your case, and it runs through all your offending, is drink.  That is the problem and you have to tackle that and there is no-one else who can tackle it but you.  You have to decide to do it.  Of course, we recognise that you are about to become a father and that is going to be important to you; fortunately your child will not be very old when you come out of prison.  We are going to sentence you to the conclusions which the Crown has moved for so a total of 12 months' imprisonment.  And when you come out you will be able to give attention to looking after your child and your partner.  But we suggest that you do take all the help that is available to you in the prison, and there is some there, to tackle the problem of your drinking.  If you do not do that then you do face serious risks in the future.  You must realise that nobody else can tackle it but you.  It is no good shaking your head at me, the fact of the matter is that you and only you can tackle this and you need to for the sake of your child in the future. 

5.        In the circumstances the Crown's conclusions are granted and you are sentenced as follows:- on Count 1; 1 week's imprisonment, on Count 2; 2 weeks' imprisonment, on Count 3; 2 weeks' imprisonment, on Count 4; 1 week's imprisonment, on Count 5; 12 months' imprisonment.  They will all run concurrently making a total of 12 months' imprisonment. 

6.        You are also subject to an Exclusion Order which will run for 18 months as from today that excludes you from going into 1^st, 2^nd, 4^th, 5^th and 7^th category licensed premises excluding the Multiplex Cinema, the Arts Centre, the Airport, the ferry terminal at Elizabeth Harbour and the Opera House for 18 months from today. 

7.        The notification requirements under the Sex Offenders (Jersey) Law theoretically would apply to you unless we disapply them.  This is one of those offences where we are entitled to disapply them and for the reasons given by the Crown, we do so and so they will not apply to you in the future. 

8.        You will be disappointed today but you need to think quite carefully about the things I have said to you and when you are in prison you should do that. 

Authorities

Criminal Justice (Young Offenders)(Jersey) Law 1994.

Harrison-v-AG [2004] JLR 111.

Fowler-v-AG [2007] JLR N 23.

AG-v-Cameron [2008] JLR N 44.

AG-v-A and Ors [2009] JRC 107.

AG-v-Botteril and Others [2011] JRC 160.