Deputy Jonathan Le Tocq has been charged with multiple criminal offences including making indecent images of children, possessing extreme pornography, and misusing the telecommunications network.
The 61-year-old politician and pastor appeared in court on Friday afternoon where he was remanded into custody until 15 September when he next appears in the Magistrate’s Court.
The court hearing was convened at short notice on Friday afternoon, with Guernsey Police confirming at lunchtime that officers had charged Deputy Le Tocq with numerous offences.
Express understands that Deputy Le Tocq only learned of the nature of all of the crimes he was accused of committing on Friday morning, having initially been arrested on suspicion of telecommunications offences in July.
At that point he was released on bail while police enquiries continued.
Express understands that this case is currently not linked to any other ongoing police investigations or court cases.
Politics
Deputy Le Tocq was born and raised in Guernsey, and was adopted by his parents as an infant.
He attended Elizabeth College and then worked off island for a time before returning to Guernsey where he has raised his family, been heavily involved with a church, and has been active in the community.
He entered politics in 2000 when he was first elected to the States representing voters in the Castel.
During his first term, he sat on committees including Education and Overseas Aid, he then took a break from politics after his second term ended in 2008, before being re-elected in the Castel in 2012.
He served as the Chief Minister of Guernsey from March 2014 until May 2016, and has held a number of other key political roles during his political career.
Deputy Le Tocq was elected to be Deputy Chief Minister following his term as Chief Minister, and then served as Home Minister, and Minister for External Affairs.
In 2020, he joined the Guernsey Partnership of Independents party and was re-elected to the States on an island wide basis.
He was a top 10 candidate in this year’s General Election, with 8,002 votes, and was initially seen as a front runner to be the President of the Policy and Resources Committee.
He was unsuccessful in that election but was made a member of the committee and was given the title of Lead for External Relations again.
That role entails meeting officials and dignitaries from across the world both in Guernsey and overseas.
Religion
Jonathan Le Tocq was brought up in a religious household and has been active in Christian ministry since 1989. He is an ordained minister.
For more than 20 years, he’s been the senior pastor of the Rock Community Church in Guernsey, which he helped start.
He also assists other churches in France, where he has a second home, and has appeared on numerous podcasts, primarily as a guest discussing both his political and pastoral roles.
The charges
Jonathan Paul Le Tocq of the Castel has been charged with making at least 80 ‘Category A’ indecent images of children, at least another 150 ‘Category B’ images, and a minimum of 1200 ‘Category C’ indecent images of children. These offences are alleged to have been committed between 14 June 2023 and 12 July 2025.
He’s also been charged with possessing “extremely pornographic images that portray a relevant act” between 21 April 2024 and 16 May 2025.
There are also charges for sending messages and images of an indecent character on X (formerly twitter) through multiple accounts.
The charges were described in court as being so serious that the matter will have to be sent up to the Royal Court.
Deputy Le Tocq’s defence advocate did not make a bail application.
More to follow…