Jersey Unreported Judgments

Inferior Number Sentencing - grave and criminal assault.

[2021]JRC237

Royal Court

(Samedi)

22 September 2021

The Attorney General

-v-

Kurt Miller

Sentencing by the Inferior Number of the Royal Court, following a guilty plea to the following charge:

Age:  36. 

Plea: Guilty. 

Details of Offence:

On Christmas Day, following the consumption of a large amount of alcohol, the Defendant and the Complainant argued, and the Defendant punched the Complainant repeatedly to the face causing severe bruising and asymmetry of the face.

A basis of plea was entered to the effect that the Defendant's actions were in retaliation and the Defendant sustained scratches, bruises and a bite mark during the incident.

The Court ordered that the Defendant be sentenced on his version of events.

Details of Mitigation:

Relationship difficulties between the Defendant and the Complainant which had continued for some time prior to the offending.

Long term history of alcohol dependency.

Since being in custody the Defendant exhibited a good work ethic and exemplary behaviour.

Previous Convictions:

Three convictions for eight offences. No convictions for violence.

Conclusions:

The Crown would have been seeking an 18 month Probation Order to address the Defendant's issues and the fact that he was deemed to be at high risk of future offending in a domestic context, however the Defendant indicated at Court that he would not consent to probation.

Sentence and Observations of Court:

Ms R. C. L. Morley-Kirk, Crown Advocate.

Advocate I. C. Jones for the Defendant.

JUDGMENT

THE DEPUTY BAILIFF:

1.        Kurt Miller, you are 36 years old and have no previous convictions for violence, although you have appeared before the Court before.  You have pleaded guilty to assaulting your then partner on Christmas Day 2020.  You pleaded guilty late in the day, over two months after you had pleaded not guilty in this Court on Indictment, and only two months before your jury trial was to commence and accordingly the credit for that plea is less than it would have been had you entered a prompt plea of guilty at the first opportunity.

2.        You were involved in an intermittent relationship with your partner and on 24^th December last year you went to her home.  Prior to meeting her you had drunk three bottles of wine and whilst at her home you drank more and at 10:30 in the morning on Christmas Day left her address in order to purchase more alcohol.  You were angry when you learnt you may have difficulty in purchasing more alcohol on Christmas Day.  Both you and your partner drank alcohol as she prepared the Christmas dinner.  You fell asleep whilst she was preparing the meal.  You awoke and accused her of being unfaithful to you.  By this time, you were both heavily intoxicated and an altercation took place.  You do not suggest that your partner started this altercation, but the Crown accept that during that altercation you were punched, scratched and bitten. 

3.        None of this excuses your behaviour by way of retaliation in punching your partner several times with a closed fist, knocking her to her bedroom floor and continuing to punch her on the floor.  You caused injury to her face.  You called the ambulance upon seeing what you had done to her, the police arrived, and you were arrested.

4.        When your partner was examined by a forensic medical examiner that evening, injuries were recorded including considerable bruising to her eyelids, jaw, nose, cheek, temple and inside her mouth, and these injuries were, in the opinion of the doctor, consistent with her being repeatedly struck in the same area.  There were also more limited injuries to you consisting of a bruise on your eye, one to your arm and marks on your left hand and right fingers.

5.        When you were interviewed by the police you lied to them, denying having assaulted your partner and saying that she had fallen against a wall and you maintained those lies by indicating a not guilty plea in the Magistrate's Court and entering a not guilty plea in this Court.

6.        The Crown has accepted that your relationship with your former partner can be described as volatile and we learn that the police were called by one or other of you on 47 occasions in the previous three years.  The Probation Officer says you struggle to take any responsibility for your actions against your partner and it is unsurprising that in view of your attitude, you are assessed at being at high risk of committing further domestic assaults particularly against her.

7.        We have considered the guidance from Coelho v AG [2020] JRC 216, the leading case on domestic abuse, and the Crown reminds the Court this morning that at paragraph 25 of the decision of the Superior Number on appeal in that case, the Court referred with approval to the Sentencing Council Guidance from 2018 which said:

"The domestic context of the offending behaviour makes the offending more serious because it represents a violation of the trust and security that normally exists between people in an intimate or family relationship"

8.        We note from the aggravating features listed at paragraph 26 of the judgment of the Superior number in Coelho the presence of the following circumstances in this case:

(i)        An abuse of trust and an abuse of power.

(ii)       That your former partner, the victim, was drunk and accordingly vulnerable.

(iii)      Although you did not take steps to prevent her from reporting the incident, you lied to the police and, it appears, the ambulance staff as to how her injuries had been caused. 

9.        The Crown observed you have now been in custody for the equivalent of a sentence of imprisonment of just over 13 months and it is suggested on your behalf that that is sufficient and the Court ought to pass a sentence allowing your immediate release today.

10.      In our view, a sentence in the region of 18 months' imprisonment from a starting point of 2 years with credit, albeit reduced for your late guilty plea, is warranted by the facts of this offence.  Although you have had employment in the past, we see from the report that you have not worked since September 2019 and your life has been blighted by substance abuse, cannabis, ecstasy, cocaine, LSD and more recently alcohol.  You have twice failed to complete a residential rehabilitation course at Silkworth Lodge.  You have, of course, abstained from alcohol since you were remanded in custody on Boxing Day last year and we note that you have a positive report from the substance misuse councillor in prison, and that you are working hard in the prison kitchen, and reports about your behaviour there are good and we hear from your counsel today that your time in custody has led to an improvement in your general health.

11.      The Probation Officer recommended an 18 month Probation Order with a condition that you undertake the Jersey Domestic Abuse program which is designed to tackle attitudes to domestic abuse, and other courses were also recommended which would enhance your victim awareness and monitor your alcohol use with liaison with the Alcohol and Drugs Service.  You have declined to consent to any such order and indicated that you would be unlikely to cooperate with one.  We note through your counsel that you would be prepared to take the advantage of similar opportunities on a voluntary basis and we have heard from the Probation Officer in Court today that people do voluntarily undertake the Jersey Domestic Abuse program.  We certainly encourage you to do so and if you were to reoffend and had not undertaken such a course then any future court would be concerned to learn as to why you had elected not to do so. 

12.      But in the circumstances, having regard to the gravity of this offence and all the matters that the Court has considered today we have no hesitation in granting the Crown's conclusions and accordingly you are sentenced to 16 months' imprisonment. 

Authorities

Coelho v AG [2020] JRC 216. 

AG v Murray [2020] JRC 012A.