Court tells Portuguese man “it’s a privilege to live in Jersey”

Sunday 21 January 2018

A Portuguese man convicted of receiving stolen goods and drugs offences, has narrowly escaped being sent back to Maderia.

When Police arrested 33-year-old Igor Frescata in St Helier in August 2017, they found a small amount of cannabis on him. Later a rucksack of stolen medals and coins was also discovered at the flat where he was living.

The items had been taken from the St Clement home of an 89-year-old woman where Frescata had been doing some decorating. Originally he claimed they were from Portugal, but afterwards said he’d been given them by a man called ‘David’ who’d later died of a drugs overdose.

Pictured: The items, which included war medals, were said to have been taken from a property where Frescata had been doing some decorating.

Crown Advocate Richard Pedley told the Royal Court that, although the stolen items did not have great financial value, the World War One medals were of great sentimental value, and that Frescata should be sent to prison and then deported.

Defence Advocate James Bell disagreed, however. He argued that the drug offences were relatively small and could have been dealt with at Parish Hall level, that his client had received the goods, not stolen them, and that he had no previous criminal record of any kind.

Sentencing Frescata, the Bailiff, Sir William Bailhache, told him they were going to give him the "benefit of the doubt" about not stealing the items, and that they’d taken his previous good character into account.

He was subsequently given 120 hours’ community service and a one-year probation order. Because he wasn't given a prison sentence he couldn’t be deported, but Sir William had stern words for him: "Living in Jersey is a privilege. If you wish to stay in the island you should not commit a criminal offence."