Guernsey man imprisoned for leaving 'unholy mess' in church

Friday 26 August 2022

A man has been sentenced to 28 days in Guernsey's prison for defecating and urinating inside the Twn Church whilst drunk.

Jason Free McDonald (49) was sentenced in the Magistrate’s Court for his crimes yesterday (August 25).

Prosecuting Advocate Marc Davies told the Court that on 6 August the church warden began carrying out their “usual duties” around the premises.

They subsequently discovered excrement and used paper on the stone pulpit, and after clearing up the mess checked CCTV recordings, where they saw McDonald enter the church just after 15:30.

He could be seen squatting down, pulling down his trousers and defecating, using paper he had personally brought and leaving the paper behind.

The following day - 7 August - the defendant was seen staggering drunk into the same building just after 13:45.

McDonald proceeded to urinate on a stone pillar leaving “lots of liquid on the floor”, according to Advocate Davies. He then lay across a church pew, appearing to fall asleep. 

The clean-up occurred the following day, costing the church £8.50 for a biohazard kit.

During the police interview, McDonald claimed he was aware there were public toilets close to the church, and said he had “no idea” why he didn’t use them. He added that he was “disgusted” with himself.

Pictured: McDonald will spend close to a month in custody at Les Nicolles. 

Defence Advocate Clare Tee said her client had entered a guilty plea “at the first opportunity” and cited the probation report which highlighted that McDonald had no recollection of the events since he had consumed “a significant amount of alcohol”.  

Advocate Tee reiterated that McDonald was ashamed of his actions, and his consumption of anti-depressants “may have had an impact on his behaviour at the time”. 

She added that McDonald was not deliberately targeting the church.

His “unenviable offending history” was raised, but it was noted that he had a clean record between 2017 and 2022. 

Based on that, Advocate Tee implored the judge to “adopt and endorse” the recommendations laid out in the probation report.

Pictured: McDonald was sentenced in the Magistrate’s Court yesterday. 

Judge Graeme McKerrell took note of the “significant gap” in McDonald’s “long and terrible record” but said all the offences were alcohol related.

“It’s truly disgusting not just in terms of where you did it but what you did,” he said, adding that his actions would have left an “unholy mess” for clean-up.

Judge McKerrell added that little could “excuse the revolting nature” of the actions, and said the offences were not suitable for a community service order, or a fine.

McDonald was sentenced to 21 days in prison for defecating, and a further seven days for urinating, totaling 28 days, to run from 10 August when he was originally reprimanded in custody.

Judge McKerrell also ordered a 12-month probation order to run from August 25.