Community service for domestic assault

Saturday 10 November 2018

A man in his 20s has been sentenced to community service in the Royal Court for assaulting a woman after she went to his house to confront him about his girlfriend, who was hiding in the wardrobe at the time.

Kyle Thomas James Walker (26) was yesterday sentenced to 150 hours of community service after he reacted violently to the woman turning up at his house to confront him about his partner.

When Walker didn’t respond to her knocking, the court was told that she put her hand through the letterbox to grab the key on the other side of the door and let herself into the property. 

The Royal Court was then told that an argument ensued, which resulted in Walker grabbing the victim “by the throat” and pushing her into the hallway. "As he applied pressure to her neck, the victim began to feel faint and felt her arms go limp," the court heard.

Pictured: Kyle Thomas James Walker, who has been in custody for the equivalent of a six-month prison sentence, and was yesterday released after an appearance in the Royal Court.

A physical “scuffle”  took place as the pair fell to the floor and grappled with one another. Walker’s girlfriend, who had been hiding in the wardrobe, came into the hallway and witnessed some of the assault before retreating back into the bedroom.

Crown Advocate Conrad Yates, prosecuting, acknowledged that “provocation” gave rise to the assault, stating that the young woman did effectively break into the property and was likely to have been seeking confrontation. However, given the “seriousness of the assault”, the Crown Advocate asked the Bailiff, Sir William Bailhache, presiding, and the Jurats, to impose a prison sentence of 15 months for the grave and criminal assault.

Crown Advocate Yates also asked the Court to impose a restraining order, preventing Walker from having contact with the woman.

In contrast, Defence Advocate Michael Haines emphasised that his client “accepts unequivocally that his behaviour… was wrong” and that he “apologises” to the woman for the assault.

Advocate Haines said that Walker “lost his self-control and reacted”, but he also noted that there was “substantial provocation” in this case which makes it different from many other domestic violence incidents.

Pictured: Walker was represented by Defence Advocate Michael Haines, who asked the Court to impose a community service order and a probation order rather than a prison sentence.

Given that Walker had already spent time in custody awaiting sentencing, Advocate Haines asked the Court to impose a community service order and a probation order. He also added that his client did not object to the restraining order if it would “give comfort to the victim”.

After hearing both sides of the case, the Bailiff, sitting with Jurats Blampied and Ronge, agreed with the defence, saying: “There is no doubt [that]… the assault was a serious assault.”

The Bailiff continued: “Although domestic violence is always treated seriously by this court… there was extreme provocation… because the victim went to the address in question and forced her way in.”

Therefore, the Royal Court imposed an 18-month probation order and 150 hours' community service, as well as requiring Walker to take a course in domestic abuse prevention training. He was warned that if he did not complete the community service, he would have to face the 15-month prison sentence suggested by the Crown Advocate.