Any victims of image-based abuse – or any other crimes – are being offered support by Guernsey’s Victim Support and Witness Service.

The charity has been supporting Jonathan Le Tocq’s numerous victims throughout their ordeal, after they began to be informed of his criminal activities using their images in July last year.

He used images of local women and children and other people to create thousands of pseudo indecent images. He also downloaded other indecent images of children, had downloaded hundreds of images of extreme pornography, and shared indecent images and text via the telecommunications network.

His victims and his family were in court yesterday to hear his sentence. They were being supported by the Victim Support and Witness Service.

Its Manager Jenny Murphy said his crimes “highlights the serious harm caused by image-based abuse”.

Pictured: Jonathan Le Tocq was jailed for nine years.

“This type of offending can have a lasting and deeply distressing impact on victims, and it is never acceptable,” she said.

“Anyone affected by image-based abuse, or any other crime, is entitled to support.

“Independent and confidential help is available for victims and witnesses, whether the offence was recent or historic, reported or not.

“Victim Support & Witness Service can offer emotional support, practical advice, and guidance through the criminal justice process. No one has to face the impact of this alone.”

The images which Le Tocq created included in one family’s case a genuine photograph of a child in their primary school uniform which he downloaded from her mother’s social media account, ‘nudified’, and edited into pornographic images.

This victim told the court through her victim impact statement that “Jonathan Le Tocq makes me sick”.

She further said that “this is especially disturbing because I have known him since I was a young child”.

Crown Advocate Christopher Dunford told the Royal Court during Le Tocq’s sentencing that this method of offending has not been seen by the court before. 

The creation of ‘deep fake pornographic images’ is not in itself currently illegal in Guernsey he explained, but the law is being changed to reflect the advent of such crimes.

Pictured: Victim Support and Witness Service is based at the Royal Court.

The NSPCC has reiterated the support it can also offer to any victims of Le Tocq’s or anyone else.

“As a politician, Le Tocq had a duty to safeguard and protect vulnerable people,” the charity said after he entered guilty pleas in December. “Yet he involved himself in criminality in which children are harmed. Viewing and sharing child sexual abuse material fuels a horrific industry, which can be devastating for victims, with further trauma caused by the knowledge that images have been shared online.

“This case also highlights the need for tech companies to protect children and prevent offenders like Le Tocq from accessing and sharing child sexual abuse content on their platforms.

“Anyone with concerns for the wellbeing of a child can speak to our trained advisors at the NSPCC Helpline on 0808 8005000 or at help@nspcc.org.uk. Children can speak to a Childline counsellor on 0800 1111 or at childline.org.uk.”