Man found guilty of indecent assault and rape

Friday 28 July 2017

A 51-year-old man has been found guilty of eight counts of indecent assault, two counts of procuring an act of gross indecency and one count of rape against two young girls.

Martin James Jegou – formerly known as Martin James Ridgway Richardson – has been remanded in custody after a jury unanimously found him guilty.

After five hours of deliberation, a jury of three women and eight men found Mr Jegou guilty of a series of sexual offences involving children.

Two counts of procuring an act of gross indecency were dropped during the trial and Mr Jegou was found not guilty of two counts of rape, but he was found guilty of indecent assault on both of these counts.

Mr Jegou, who changed his name by deed poll after his arrest in January 2016, will be sentenced before the Superior Number on 7 December. He has also been added to the Sex Offenders’ Register.

The trial, which lasted all week, heard testimony from a total of 14 witnesses, including the two victims.

One of the victims told the Royal Court that she was “shocked and scared” when the abuse she faced as a child first started. When commenting on why she only recently reported the abuse, she said: “I feel like I need to stand up for myself… I wanted to tell my story. I wanted them to lock him up for what he did to me.”

The second victim in this case also took the stand, and told the Court that she was “too scared to say anything” in case she wasn’t believed. When describing how she felt after the indecent assault took place, she said: “I felt really uncomfortable… obviously it’s not right… I just wanted to get out of there."

Earlier in the morning, the Deputy Bailiff Tim Le Cocq, presiding as judge, gave directions to the 11 members of the jury. He urged them to review all of the evidence they had heard “dispassionately”, saying: “You must put aside any feelings you have about cases of this kind.”

He also asked them to consider the “reliability” and “truthfulness” of all of the evidence, including the testimony of all of the witnesses given the time that has passed since the alleged abuse took place.

A spokesperson for NSPCC Jersey said: “Abuse ruins childhoods. These horrendous offences caused Jegou’s two victims an enormous amount of pain and distress both at the time they took place and ever since. 

“With this abuse taking place many years ago, Jegou may have thought he had got away with it, but, thanks to the bravery his victims have shown in coming forward and giving evidence, justice has finally been served.

“It is absolutely right that people who suffered child sexual abuse feel confident their voices will be heard, no matter how much time has passed since their ordeal.”

For more information about NSPCC Jersey’s services that help victims of sexual abuse, or to support our work, visit: www.nspccjersey.org.