Pensioner accused of child sex abuse threatened suicide

Thursday 03 November 2016

The trial continues this morning of an 85-year-old retired farmer accused of sexually abusing a teenage boy.

Bryan John Le Brocq is charged with eight counts of sexual assault on the alleged victim, who was 13 when it is claimed the abuse started. He denies all the charges.

The Royal Court yesterday heard how Mr Le Brocq threatened to kill himself and the officer who arrested him in August last year cut down a piece of rope hanging in the farmer’s barn as he was concerned he would use it.

The officer said when he was first arrested Mr Le Brocq, the defendant asked: "Is this about the boy? I'm shocked."

The officer told the court: "He repeatedly said he would kill himself if he got charged, when he was in the police car. I was sitting beside him.

"Post interview we took him home and there was a rope hanging from the barn that he had told us about during the interview.”

The officer told the court that the defendant had raised the issue during interview that the rope was there for the alleged victim to kill himself.

The officer said: "I cut it down."

The Court heard the transcript of Mr Le Brocq's police interview when he told officers: "I've never done any trouble in my life....I once had girlfriends."

Referring to the alleged victim, he also told the police: "He's got his own room, his own bed, I never slept in his bed once....He accepted me more of a father, more than his own father.

"I certainly never went to his bloody bed. He lived down the other end of the house....

"He was well on the drugs. I don't want to be nasty but I couldn't see the back of him quick enough."

Yesterday the Court also heard from the alleged victim's mother, who when asked whether she, or her ex-husband, had any concerns about their son spending time with Mr Le Brocq at his farm, said: "We had talked to local Jersey people and we were told that Brian was a good Jersey farmer and a gentleman and there was no need to have any concern.

"We had instilled in our children our concerns we would have about anybody."

When Defending Advocate Heidi Heath asked whether her son was ever violent, she replied: "He gets upset and that comes across in a verbal way and sometimes we have to finish our conversations because he can't express himself because he's angry.

"I love him very much. I can't carry on listening to his language but he's never violent.

"As a mum it is hard to stand here and answer these questions and as a mum you always think you could do better. I would like to get to the facts myself as a mother.”

She added: "He feels that if I'd been a better mother, he wouldn't have turned to Mr Le Brocq."

The trial continues today.