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Jersey Unreported Judgments
You are here: BAILII >> Databases >> Jersey Unreported Judgments >> AG v RR [2023] JRC 155 (22 August 2023)
URL: http://www.bailii.org/je/cases/UR/2023/2023_155.html
Cite as: [2023] JRC 155
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Inferior Number Sentencing - assault - grave and criminal assault
|
Before : |
Sir Timothy Le Cocq, Bailiff, and Jurats Le Cornu and Ramsden |
The Attorney General
-v-
RR
Sentencing by the Inferior Number of the Royal Court, following a guilty plea to the following charges:
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1 count of: |
Common assault (Count 1). |
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4 counts of: |
Grave and criminal assault (Counts 2 to 5). |
Age: 15.
Plea: Guilty.
Details of Offence:
Count 1
On 25 January 2023, Master X (aged 15) was outside McDonalds with friends when he was approached by the Defendant (then aged 14), who looked angry. The pair were known to each other and Master X suspected that something would happen, so turned to face the opposite direction. The Defendant punched Master X to the back of the head, side of the face and his mouth, causing his lip to split, before he walked away and said, "wait till I see you again, away from the cameras". Master X did not retaliate. The Defendant stated to his Probation Officer that he had heard Master X had supplied his younger sister with alcohol and wanted retribution.
Count 2
On 28 January 2023, Master Y (aged 17) was outside Liberation Bus Station, waiting to get the bus home. He was approached by the Defendant (then aged 14), who asked "are you Master Y?" to which he responded "yes". The Defendant then dragged Master Y away from the bus and said "get out of the CCTV" before asking him why he had assaulted his younger brother. Master Y responded that he didn't know who the Defendant's younger brother was. The Defendant then punched Master Y to the eye, causing him to fall to the ground and his nose to bleed. Whilst on the ground, the Defendant kicked him to the shoulder. The Defendant was told that he had the wrong person, before he had punched Master Y, but he still punched and kicked him. Footage was found on the Defendant's phone of the assault. Master Y had poor vision in his left eye and the doctor noted that he may not have seen the fist coming towards him and been able to protect himself.
Count 3
On 26 March 2023, Master Z (aged 14) was outside McDonalds when he was approached by the Defendant (now aged 15) and told to go with him. The Defendant was with three others, and they were all wearing balaclavas or had hoods up. Master Z was taken to an underground entrance to a nearby property. The Defendant punched Master Z to the face 20 to 30 times. The Defendant tried to take Master Z to the ground, but he was unable to do so. The Defendant also tried to kick Master Z to the rib area, but Master Z put his arm in the way. Master Z sustained a swollen and bloodied nose, swollen knuckles and bruising to his eyes. The Defendant stated to his Probation Officer that he believed Master Z had assaulted his younger sister and that he gave Master Z the choice between apologising or receiving a beating.
Count 4
On 10 April 2023, Master X (also the victim of Count 1) was walking in Parade Park when he was told by two girls known to him "to go to the stairs". Master X then saw the Defendant and three friends. Master X was then punched to the back of the head, causing him to fall to the ground. He got up and ran away but the Defendant grabbed the back of his hood, threw him against the wall, where he hit his head, and then fell to the floor again. Master X was kicked to the back of the head, face, torso, arms and legs. He pretended to be unconscious, so the kicking would stop. Due to the force and number of kicks, Master X thought that multiple people were kicking him, but it was just the Defendant. The Defendant told his friends to video the assault. Footage was circulated on social media. Master X sustained bruising and abrasions.
Count 5
On 10 April 2023, approximately 70 minutes after the assault on Master X, the Defendant was with a group including his siter in Bath Street. As the group passed a male (aged 78), the sister knocked his hat off. The male swore at her, and the Defendant confronted him. The Defendant was sentenced on his basis of plea, which was that the male had punched him once to the jaw, without force or injury. The Defendant then punched the male, knocking him unconscious. The male fell to the ground and sustained serious facial injuries (massive periorbital bruising and a deep laceration). The Defendant walked away but called an ambulance a few minutes later.
The Defendant was assessed as being at very high risk of reconviction and as unsuitable for probation or community service.
Details of Mitigation:
Youth, guilty pleas, positive steps taken whilst on remand.
Defence counsel urged the Court to impose community service, or in the alternative, submitted that the Court had the power to impose a probation order on some offences and youth detention on others. The Crown submitted that the wording of the 1937 Loi did not allow for this.
Previous Convictions:
Previous convictions for six assaults, four of which were grave and criminal assaults. He also had convictions for public order offences, drug offences and dishonesty offences.
Conclusions:
The Crown submitted that Art 5(3) applied and despite the Defendant's age, only a custodial sentence was suitable.
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Count 1: |
4 months' youth detention |
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Count 2: |
9 months' youth detention, concurrent. |
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Count 3: |
9 months' youth detention, concurrent. |
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Count 4: |
18 months' youth detention, concurrent. |
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Count 5: |
18 months' youth detention, concurrent. |
Total: 18 months' youth detention.
Breach of Probation Order - order to be revoked, no separate penalty.
Restraining orders sought preventing future contact with the victims of Counts 2, 3 and 5 for two years.
Sentence and Observations of Court:
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Count 1: |
4 months' youth detention |
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Count 2: |
9 months' youth detention, concurrent. |
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Count 3: |
9 months' youth detention, concurrent. |
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Count 4: |
15 months' youth detention, concurrent. |
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Count 5: |
15 months' youth detention, concurrent. |
Total: 15 months' youth detention.
Breach of Probation Order - order to be revoked, no separate penalty.
Restraining orders granted preventing future contact with the victims of Counts 2, 3 and 5 for two years.
The Court noted that the Crown's conclusions were correct but reduced the sentence to reflect positive signs and a gesture to the Defendant that the Court hope he will change his life and behave in a more pro-social way.
Ms L. B. Hallam, Crown Advocate.
Advocate S. E. A. Dale for the Defendant.
JUDGMENT
THE BAILIFF:
1. Because of the complexities of this matter, some of which have arisen during the course of submissions before us we will give full reasons on a later occasion.
2. In general terms however, we have seen on the one hand the most appalling and unprovoked violence on the streets of St Helier perpetrated by the accused in this case and we are satisfied that Article 5(3) of the Criminal Justice (Young Offenders) (Jersey) Law 2014 applies and that this matter cannot be dealt with other than by a custodial sentence.
3. We are alive however, to what has been said to us by Defence counsel and the hints, and we put them no more strongly than that to a possible change in direction to the unhappy trajectory that has characterised this accused life to date. We note for example that he phoned the ambulance after the assault on the victim of Count 5 and we note what has been said about his engagement with the psychologist who has worked with him.
4. In our view, however, the sentences moved for by the Crown are entirely correct as to proposed duration and we are therefore going largely to follow them but we will reduce the conclusions to a modest extent to reflect what we take to be the positive signs and as a gesture to this Defendant that we hope that he will change his life and behave in a more pro social way. He will, we hope, ask the Probation Service as soon as he is able to do so for help and for support and we have little doubt that if asked sincerely that support will be forthcoming.
5. In connection with Count 1, the assault on Master X, 4 months youth detention. Count 2, grave and criminal assault on Master Y, 9 months' youth detention, concurrent. Count 3, grave and criminal assault on Master Z, 9 months' youth detention, concurrent. Count 4, grave and criminal assault on Master X, 15 months' youth detention, concurrent. Count 5, grave and criminal assault on the male victim, 15 months' youth detention, concurrent. We order that the Probation Order be revoked with no separate penalty to flow in that regard and this makes a total of 15 months' youth detention.
6. We also make the restraining orders in the terms sought before us for a period of 2 years.
Authorities
Criminal Justice (Young Offenders) (Jersey) Law 2014.