Man with history of violent assaults jailed for "terrifying attack" on couple

Tuesday 06 September 2022

A 51-year-old man with a history of violent aggression has been sentenced to five-and-a-half years in prison for attacking a couple in their home, which has left them both with deep psychological scars.

Shaun Le Lay faced sentencing by the Royal Court on Tuesday for three counts of grave and criminal assault and one of malicious damage, having been found guilty by a jury in June at the end of a five-day trial.

Le Lay attended the beginning of the hearing but left the dock and requested to return to HMP La Moye after the court rejected his application to stop the sentencing because he was known to some Jurats and judge Commissioner Julian Clyde-Smith.

This is because they had judged previous court hearings when he was the defendant.

On Tuesday, Le Lay was sentenced for assaulting the caretaker of the flats he was living in. He also attacked the caretaker’s wife after she intervened.

Later that day, 8 August 2021, having been arrested and taken to Police Headquarters, Le Lay bit a police officer who was trying to restrain him.

Laying out the facts of the case, Crown Advocate Simon Thomas said that Le Lay had gone to the caretaker’s flat after he had been served an eviction notice by the property manager.

He requested the contact details of the manager, which the caretaker had been instructed not to give out.

Le Lay swore at the caretaker and then punched him in the head. The man, in his 60s, told police afterwards that he had been particularly concerned for his safety as he had undergone a triple bypass four years earlier.

The caretaker had a horsewhip nearby, which he attempted to use to defend himself, but Le Lay grabbed it off him, pushed the man on to a sofa and started to use the whip on him.

At this point, the caretaker’s wife, in her 50s, tried to stop the assault. Le Lay grabbed her breast, attempted to bite her hand and held her head in both hands, twisting it with force. 

She said later that she felt she was going to die.

Le Lay then pushed over a chest of drawers and broke a chair before leaving the flat.

Advocate Thomas said that the couple had sustained serious bruising but he also read out statements from each of them, which described the profound mental impact of the assaults. 

This included being unable to sleep, nightmares, a fear of going out, strain within their relationship, a fear of heavily built men, and feelings of sadness.

“Le Lay has ruined my life,” said one.

After the assaults, at Police Headquarters, Le Lay threw a paper cup of water at officers. When they tried to restrain him, Le Lay bit the leg of a policeman, piercing the skin through his police-issue trousers and the fabric face mask that Le Lay was wearing. 

Acting an ‘amicus’ to the Court to represent the interests of Mr Le Lay, Advocate David Steenson said it was right that Le Lay was punished and the public protected, but it was also appropriate for the Court to consider a treatment order.

“He would benefit and, by extension, society would benefit from that,” said the lawyer.

He added that Le Lay’s behaviour had been “informed and influenced” by his mental health issues.

“It is certainly an explanation for his behaviour,” said Advocate Steenson. “He does not act out of pure malice or evil; he misinterprets situations. He also has a view, although not often right, that he has been wronged in some way. 

“When he has a moment and has time to reflect, he quite often is apologetic, which is reflected in medical reports. He does have insight into his own conditions and acknowledges that he is quick to anger when he doesn't get own way.

“He did say during the trial that he was sorry and regretted how the incident had evolved. It was not the case that he decided to go around to his neighbours and beat them up, even though that is how matters turned out.”

The lawyer also highlighted Le Lay’s community work “in happier times” before his offending began in 2010, triggered by the death of his mother.

This had included bearing a military standard within metres of the Queen when she visited the island in 2001, a scene captured in a painting which hangs in a stairwell of the Royal Court building.

The Crown called for a sentence of five years but the judge, who was sitting with Jurats Collette Crill, Pamela Pitman, Elizabeth Dulake, Steven Austin-Vautier and Rozelle Thomas, increased this by six months. 

Commissioner Clyde-Smith noted that Le Lay had been uncooperative through the investigation and had maintained his not-guilty pleas, requiring the couple to appear as witnesses during a trial.

“This was an intrusion into the home of an effectively defenceless and vulnerable couple by someone much larger than them,” he said.

However, the Court also recognised previous diagnoses of Autism Spectrum Disorder and personality problems.

It ordered the commissioning of psychological reports into Le Lay which could lead to him being transferred to a specialist treatment centre in the UK.

Should doctors recommend this option, the matter will be dealt with at a future hearing.

The Court also issued a restraining order for an indeterminate period preventing Le Lay from making any contact with the couple.

“The truly frightening conduct of the defendant means that the victims deserve protection from him for the rest of their lives,” said the judge.

Le Lay had appeared for the sentencing verdict via video link, having returned to prison, but this was cut by the Court after he repeatedly interrupted the judge.

After sentencing, Police Constable Sophie Dines said: “This incident truly terrified the married couple involved and they have shown a great deal of courage and respect seeing this through to a prosecution.

"Police are there to protect the public but unfortunately in this case a colleague was assaulted in the execution of his duty. We hope that this sentence helps those involved get some form of closure on these nasty assaults.”