Jersey Unreported Judgments

Bail application

[2023]JRC035

Royal Court

(Samedi)

24 February 2023

The Attorney General

-v-

Vincent Charles Roberts

Ms C. L. G. Carvalho, Crown Advocate.

Advocate I. C. Jones for the Defendant.

EX TEMPORE JUDGMENT

THE BAILIFF:

1.        On Wednesday 22 February 2023 the Defendant was convicted by the Court with regard to 8 counts, the most serious of which relates to the digital penetration of the Victim and others of which related to the procuring of the touching of the Defendant's penis.  There are other less serious counts.

2.        It appears that having read the circumstances, as much as these are available to us, this involved a material breach of trust and, of course, at sentencing the Defendant will not have the benefit of a guilty plea and accordingly will not have the mitigation that is available in those circumstances.  Even were we to take the English Sentencing Guidelines as definitive, which we do not, there is still a material custodial disposal likely when the matter returns before the Superior Number, even on the Defence's analysis of the circumstances.

3.        If the Crown's analysis is correct the English Sentencing Guidelines, and again it is open to this Court to depart from the tariff at any point, would suggest a range between 4 and 10 years for an offence of the more serious type and if it is on the Defence's analysis that range would be between 1 and 2 years.

4.        The case of AG v Dixey and Pereira [2017] JRC 066 dealt with the position of bail after a conviction and the Court said this:

"The Court's general policy, once a guilty plea has been entered on an Indictment containing charges which are likely to result in a custodial sentence, is to have a remand in custody.  But we are conscious that in the more recent past that policy may not have been so routinely applied.  However, it will be the policy for the future and one would expect exceptional circumstances to be provided if the Court is going to grant bail after a guilty plea to an offence which is likely to carry a custodial sentence."

5.        There are no exceptional circumstances in this case.  The Defendant can point to an otherwise unblemished record, as we understand the position, but we are not aware of anything that would take this into the exceptional category.  In our view it is appropriate that the Defendant is remanded is custody and that is what we are doing in this case. 

6.        You are remanded in custody to 3^rd March 2023 at 10am for the fixing of sentencing dates and any other ancillary orders that may be necessary.

Authorities

AG v Dixey and Pereira [2017] JRC 066.