Jersey Unreported Judgments

Superior Number Sentencing - Malicious damage - Arson

[2020]JRC124

Royal Court

(Samedi)

29 June 2020

Before     :

R. J. MacRae, Esq., Deputy Bailiff, and Jurats Olsen, Thomas and Austin-Vautier.

The Attorney General

-v-

Margaret Anne Leahy

Sentencing by the Superior Number of the Royal Court, to which the accused was remanded by the Inferior Number on 13^th March, 2020, following guilty pleas to the following charges:

1 count of:	Malicious damage (Count 1).
1 count of:	Arson (Count 2).

Age:  60. 

Plea: Guilty. 

Details of Offence:

In September 2017, the defendant moved into rented accommodation in St Helier, a three storey property comprising four flats.  All of the flats were occupied at the material time, with the defendant residing on the third floor, and the owner landlord residing on the ground floor.  During the tenancy, the defendant sent unwanted messages to her landlord complaining about his conduct, including his failure to address a broken sink.

 

On the morning of 8^th January 2020, the defendant attended at Police Headquarters and reported that she had set fire to "every room" of her flat.  When asked if anyone might be trapped inside the building, she stated: "Well no, as far as I know everyone's out at work".  She explained that the firefighters could gain access through an unlocked window. 

 

Two fire engines and the Rapid Intervention Vehicle attended at the scene (six fire officers in all, the full resource available at the time).  They gained access through an unlocked window and entered the smoke-filled flat using breathing equipment.  The fire was extinguished within a few minutes.  It was established that no residents were inside the building.

 

Considerable smoke and fire damage was caused to the defendant's flat and water damage was caused to the flat below due to a pipe that burst as a result of the fire.  The defendant had written graffiti on the walls throughout the communal areas of the building and inside her own flat.  She had, in her own word, "trashed" her flat, smashing a bathroom basin with a hammer, cutting plugs off electrical appliances, and slicing open a mattress.

 

A fire investigation established that there were five or six individual seats of fire, some of which were flaming on arrival of firefighters.  Toilet paper tapers had been set in each room, indicating an intention for the fires to spread, and other combustible items had been used.  Ventilation was limited due to the doors and windows being closed, which prevented the fires taking hold.  There was a risk of the fire spreading throughout the building, and through the common roof to adjoining buildings.

 

The defendant accepted that she had been planning the arson for some time.  She had set out to punish her landlord and cause him maximum financial loss. 

Details of Mitigation:

The defendant reported the arson to the Police (albeit after a 20 minute delay), was compliant and made full admissions at the outset, and pleaded guilty at the earliest opportunity.  She had the benefit of previous good character.

 

A psychiatric assessment concluded that the defendant was showing characteristics consistent with a diagnosis of Autism Spectrum Disorder.  The offences were partly motivated by her desire to obtain assistance from mental health services.

 

The defendant was assessed as being at high risk of reconviction.  

Previous Convictions:

None. 

Conclusions:

Count 1:	6 months' imprisonment.
Count 2:	4 years' imprisonment, concurrent.

Total:  4 years' imprisonment. 

The Crown sought a Restraining Order under Article 5 of the Crime (Disorderly Conduct and Harassment) (Jersey) Law 2008 in the following terms for an indeterminate period:

That the defendant be prohibited from approaching or contacting, directly or indirectly, [her landlord] other than any contact which is inadvertent or unavoidable.

The Court was invited to make a Compensation Order if satisfied that the defendant had the means to pay compensation.

Sentence and Observations of Court:

Count 1:	1 month's imprisonment.
Count 2:	2 years and 6 month's imprisonment, concurrent.

Total:  2 years and 6 month's imprisonment.

No Compensation Order or Restraining Order imposed. 

M. R. Maletroit Esq., Crown Advocate.

Advocate L. V. Marks for the Defendant

JUDGMENT

THE DEPUTY BAILIFF:

1.        Margaret Leahy you are 60 years old and have no previous convictions.  You appear before the Court today to be sentenced in respect of two offences committed on the same occasion, just two days before your 60^th birthday; an offence of malicious damage and an offence of arson.  You have pleaded guilty to both offences. 

2.        The offences were committed in accommodation that you rented from your landlord.  In September 2017 you moved into accommodation in St Helier which you rented.  This was a three storey property comprising four flats.  All the flats were occupied in the sense that they were let when you committed this offence.  Your flat was on the top floor, the third floor, and the landlord lived on the ground floor. 

3.        Late in the morning on 8^th January 2020, you set fire to your flat.  You did so deliberately.  Indeed when you went to the police station to report what you had done, which we accept is a mitigating circumstance, you told the receptionist at the Police Headquarters that the fire you had set was in every room of your flat.  The fire investigation officer who attended your flat found that there were five or six individual seats of fire when the fire officers arrived, with two fires in the living room in flames and others smouldering.  Ventilation to the flat was limited as you had closed the windows which caused the fires to burn separately and prevented them from taking hold. 

4.        As was clear when you were interviewed by the police, during which you made full admissions, you spent the morning "trashing" your flat.  This included cutting the plugs off certain appliances, smashing a wall basin with a hammer and cutting the stuffing out of a mattress. 

5.        To set the fires you draped blankets and sheets over doors and gathered flammable material and belongings in heaps in rooms and stuffed toilet paper into cupboards in the eaves of the building.  You were unable to light all the fires that you intended to light because of the amount of smoke that was produced when you lit the first fires. 

6.        The fires that you set, although extinguished rapidly by fire officers, caused extensive damage to your flat and flood damage to the flat below.  We have seen photographs of the damage and some of the cost of re-instating the damage has not been covered by the landlords' insurance. 

7.        When you were arrested at the police station you were described as being "highly emotional and distressed".  When you were arrested and cautioned on suspicion of arson you said "No suspicion of arson. I did it.  That's why I am here.  The lengths people have to go to get help in this Island."  When booked into custody at the police station you told another office "If I am released today on bail I will set fire to wherever I am released to." 

8.        The investigating officers noted that there was a lot of graffiti in the communal areas of the building and in your flat which you had written that day and the wording of that graffiti is, in the Court's view, reflective in the Court's view, of various difficulties that you have in your life. 

9.        When interviewed you said that you committed the offence, partly in order to punish your landlord.  You said it was "revenge".  This seems to be the case because as a result of your loneliness and social isolation you had wanted to build a close relationship with the landlord based on friendship and he was unwilling or unable to reciprocate.  In this regard you sent him a number of notes over a long period which the Court has seen. 

10.      We have read the clinical psychology report from a consultant clinical psychologist Dr Amitta Shah.  Her clinical opinion is that you show characteristics and patterns of behaviour which are consistent with a diagnosis of an underlying autism spectrum disorder.  One aspect of this is that you feel isolated and alone.  You have no network of social support and are desperate to have a community to belong to and to have conversations with people who have a similar intelligence and views to yourself.  It is now recognised that girls and women on the autistic spectrum have more social and emotional needs than autistic men and often wish to have friends and emotional and social support but cannot always achieve this. 

11.      Dr Shah says you have difficulties in understanding social interactions and remarks made by others in particular contexts.  This has been very evident in your interpretation and expectation of what the landlord said in conversation when you initially viewed the flat and after you moved in.  You often felt disappointed and upset when he did not respond or communicate with you with the frequency and intensity which you expected on the basis of your interpretation of comments such as "speak soon" or "catch up with you" and the like.  This has been a feature of your life and has left you feeling let down and rejected by others. 

12.      You do not, in the opinion of Dr Shah, belong to the group of people who have a special interest or fascination in fires or arson related activities.  But you do say, and you have said so repeatedly, that if you were released you would do the same again.  You have written today to the Court, saying that those comments were made out of desperation and panic.  Nonetheless the Probation Officer records you as being at high risk of re-offending and Dr Shah says that the risk of your re-offending would be closely related to what your life and living situation and support network would be outside the custodial context. 

13.      Dr Shah says that you have been seeing the prison psychologist whilst in custody which you have found to be helpful and positive.  We have heard about these weekly sessions and the benefit you derive from them and we have heard from the Probation Officer to the effect that you still have work to do with that psychologist.  Dr Shah says that whilst you are in custody you will have the opportunity to work with the psychologist.  This will benefit you in the sense that it will enable you to understand and accept your diagnosis and to help you come to terms with past experiences and the stress that you have suffered.  You will benefit from discussions about your needs and how they can be met outside custody. 

14.      When you are released you will benefit from living in a supported residential setting which can meet your needs.  As to your needs, they were set out in some detail in the concluding paragraph of the report from Dr Shah and, in particular, she referred to the need for you to live in a residential setting where you would not feel isolated and have the opportunity to talk to people and feel supported.  Until today we were of the view from the evidence that we had that such residential accommodation was not currently available in Jersey.  In fact we are told today that it is available and it is a pity that that was not known over the last 2 years when we have heard from your advocate that your situation became increasing difficult, for the reasons that we have heard and as set out in the report from Acorn.  The accommodation that is available is at the Highlands Care Home in St Saviour which specialises in providing care for individuals over the age of 18 with special needs. 

15.      Today your advocate urged upon us a non-custodial sentence consisting of a suspended period of imprisonment, coupled with a Probation Order.  We have considered that with some care, but ultimately we were unable to follow that recommendation.  We heard from the Probation Officer, who helpfully addressed the Court today and we note that paragraph 11 of the supplemental report, from probation says

"The Court may wish to consider a prison sentence which would mark the seriousness of the offending and the risk of harm it posed while also providing [you] with an opportunity to continue to engage with the Prison Forensic Psychologist in addressing [your] needs." 

The author says that you:

"...might then be better equipped to return to the community and dealing with life's ups and downs. There is also a concern about whether a non-custodial sentence would reinforce [your] current belief that [your] offending was justified because her needs were not being met."

Although we do accept that your needs not being met did lead to the offending that we have heard about today. 

16.      For most of your adult life you have managed to live independently and the Court hopes that you will do so again in the future.

17.      The Crown has drawn our attention to various cases which illustrate that the general tariff for arson in Jersey is a sentence of between 3 and 5 years' imprisonment.  In this case the Crown moves for a period of 4 years' imprisonment.  Indeed in certain cases much longer sentences may be appropriate for arson and it is not uncommon for those who commit offences of arson, at least in England and Wales, to receive sentences of an indeterminate length. 

18.      However, this is not such a case.  There is substantial mitigation available to you, all of which I hope I have referred to in the judgment of the Court. 

19.      This was, as the Crown says, a serious offence and there are a number of aggravating features.  Other persons, had they been present in their flats, could have been injured or killed but they were not, and this was really a cry for help on your part.  The Court accordingly imposes a custodial sentence with reluctance, but noting and accepting that arson is always a serious offence, and that the risk to property and more importantly to the lives of others when domestic accommodation is set on fire is always substantial and that, unfortunately in your case you also currently present a high risk of reconviction and harm to others. 

20.      Nonetheless we reduce the Crown's conclusions and we impose a sentence upon you in relation to Count 1 of 1 month imprisonment, and Count 2, 2½ years' imprisonment, both to run concurrently making a sentence of 2½ years' imprisonment. 

21.      This means that you will be eligible for conditional early release, early next year.  We sincerely hope (and we expect this to be passed on) that accommodation at Highlands is still available to you when you are released and we also hope that arrangements are made now to ensure that you will receive the assistance from a psychologist in the community as soon as you are released.

22.      We make no order for compensation and we do not grant the application for a restraining order.

Authorities

AG v Coutanche [1989] JCA 106

AG v Fortun [2002] JRC 205

AG v Dewhurst [2007] JRC 098

AG v Corbel [2010] JRC 151B

AG v Faulkner [2011] JRC 046C

AG v Faria [2016] JRC 070A.