Man sentenced to four years in prison for robbery and harassment

Monday 17 July 2017

A 22-year-old man has been sentenced to four years in prison in the Royal Court for stealing £1,400 from a man, and harassing a woman.

Ian Stuart Richomme has also been handed a six year restraining order in relation to the woman he harassed.

Crown Advocate Richard Pedley, who was prosecuting, told the Court that Richomme telephoned and sent over a hundred electronic messages to a woman over the course of a few days, between 3 January and 9 January. In those messages, he threatened to kill the woman, terrorise her and make false allegations against her, so that her child would be taken into care. He also made threats towards any future partners or children she might have.

Richomme was also facing a count of robbery. The Court heard that on 19 January, he visited the home of a man he knew. As soon as the man opened the door, Richomme punched him in the nose and demanded all his money. Fearing for his safety, the victim gave him £1,400 in cash, money that he and his girlfriend had been saving towards the payment of a deposit for their new accommodation.

Richomme also took some jewellery.

Crown Advocate Pedley noted that this was an "unusual case of robbery" as the victim was known to the defendant. He also added that "no community can tolerate such offences", even if the injuries suffered by the victim were "minor".

Defending, Advocate James Turnbull, noted that his client had a "troubled past" and that his father was an "extremely violent man."

Upon handing down his sentence, Royal Court Commissioner Julian Clyde-Smith noted that Richomme had an "appalling record" including a 23-month prison sentence for domestic abuse on his former partner, while she was pregnant with his child.

He described the harassment as a "serious offence" that justifies "a deterrent sentence to deter the defendant and anyone else that might attempt to harass anyone in that way." "It was a serious case where serious threats were made. Threats that the defendant himself described as 'evil'."

He added that Richomme had been identified at being at a "high risk of reoffending and of future violence." He also said: "We recognise he has had a troubled past but it appears he has been given every opportunity to turn that around."

He sentenced Richomme to three years in prison in relation to the robbery and one year in relation to the harassment. He also followed the Crown's recommendations regarding a restraining order of six years, saying it was "justified."