Assault trial begins in Jersey's Royal Court

Tuesday 15 March 2022

The Royal Court has begun to hear the trial of a man accused of assaulting a woman by picking her up by the neck, and throwing her to the floor.

Joshua Clark Lyons (28) denies two charges of grave and criminal assault.

In Jersey’s Royal court yesterday, the prosecution’s case was opened by Crown Advocate Simon Thomas, who told the jury the defendant was very keen to have as much attention from the alleged victim as possible.

The alleged victim also took to the witness stand to say that she felt she was “hounded everyday."

Advocate Thomas alleged that the defendant got so angry about messages on her phone, he carried out a serious assault which led her to leave the island.

The court was told that the pair argued and Mr Lyons grabbed the victim's neck, lifted her up and threw her to the floor. 

She said she fell unconscious, and woke up on hitting the floor, also hurting her ankle. She described Mr Lyons standing over her saying, "look what you made me do".

In cross examination, defence Advocate David Steenson, sought to cast doubt on the alleged victim's testimony by asking the woman why she had not called the police.

"If you could have stepped out of that door for five minutes, you could have run away...or go to the police. At what point did you form the view he was dangerous?" The woman responded with "When he put his hands on me. When he tried to punch me. When he locked me in the bathroom". 

He went on to ask the witness, "You lied to them [the hospital in the UK] saying you fell off a horse and had been dragged along with your ankle caught in the stirrup. Why did you lie about the injuries?" 

Advocate Steeson also brought to the attention of the court affectionate messages from the alleged victim to the defendant - she replied that it was because she knew he was also in the UK. 

The trial continues today.