A 22-year-old man has been jailed for three years and nine months after a series of “violent” assaults, breaches of court orders and spitting at a police officer.
Matthew Sidney Chmielinski was sentenced today by the Royal Court for offences including grave and criminal assault, illegal entry, and malicious damage.
The court also dealt with his breach of a community service order imposed for an earlier violent offence.
The Royal Court heard that Chmielinski had previously appeared in courts in March 2025 for a separate violent assault, when he was sentenced to 360 hours of community service alongside a two-year probation order and a five-year restraining order.
However, he later failed to comply with the community service requirement, resulting in a breach which was taken into account during the latest sentencing.
“She was made to feel in fear for her son’s life and safety”
One of the incidents related to an assault at a St Helier property in the early hours of 21 October 2025.
Crown Advocate Luke Sette, prosecuting, said Chmielinski went to the property in an attempt to see his then-girlfriend.
Emergency services were called to reports of a disturbance and discovered evidence of what police described as a “significant altercation” inside the address.
Chmielinski forced entry into the property before assaulting the victim – said to be harbouring the defendant’s then-partner in his mother’s house – by pushing him onto furniture, pulling his hair and repeatedly striking his head against a wall.
“The offending appears to have been driven by jealousy or anger, resulting in him going to the victim’s property to find his partner and/or confront the victim,” explained Crown Advocate Sette.
The “unprovoked” assault also woke up the victim’s mother, who was asleep upstairs.
“Upon seeing the assault, she was made to feel in fear for her son’s life and safety,” the prosecutor said.
Officers found blood staining and broken glass at the scene, while the victim suffered injuries requiring medical treatment.
Victim left “jumpy and anxious” and in “huge fear”
In a statement about the impact of the offending, the young man that Chmielinski attacked said he had become “jumpy and anxious” since the incident.
He further described being in “huge fear” of the defendant and asked the court to grant a restraining order prohibiting direct or indirect contact.
The court also heard details of an earlier incident on 20 May 2024, when police attended another disturbance at a residential address.
Officers found a man outside with facial injuries and discovered damage to the property, including a smashed window.
Chmielinski was found inside the property unresponsive. He was treated by emergency services before being arrested on suspicion of grave and criminal assault and malicious damage.
While under arrest in hospital, Chmielinski spat at a police officer.
Investigators gathered evidence from witnesses, forensic examinations, CCTV footage and interviews conducted under caution, leading to Chmielinski being charged and remanded into custody before sentence.
“Two friends, one girl” dynamic
Advocate Chris Baglin, defending, said Chmielinski was “resigned to receiving an extension of his time in custody”.
Conceding that the offences were motivated by jealousy, he described the “two friends, one girl” dynamic that led to the grave and criminal assault in October 2025 as a “difficult situation”.
He said that the alcohol use had “contributed to Mr Chmielinski’s poor consequential thinking”.
Delivering the court’s sentence, Bailiff Robert MacRae said to Chmielinski: “It is a very serious offence to force entry into occupied residential premises at night for the purpose of carrying out an assault.
“This was an unprovoked assault on a man you knew in the presence of his mother, who was so concerned that she telephoned the police.”
These offences are not an escalation, but part of an ongoing and entrenched pattern of behaviour
Bailiff Robert MacRae
He added: “In relation to the offences on this indictment and the offences to which you are before us today, there is no alternative to custody.
“As the probation has said: these offences are not an escalation, but part of an ongoing and entrenched pattern of behaviour; behaviour which is simply unacceptable.
“You have been given a number of last chances by the court, and you’ve chosen to re-offend in this case by attacking someone in their own home once again.”
For the illegal entry and subsequent grave and criminal assault in October, Chmielinski was handed a sentence of 21 months’ imprisonment.
This sentence will run consecutively to sentences imposed in relation to offences considered before the Royal Court last year – meaning, in total, the 22-year-old will spend three years and nine months in jail. Chmielinski was not recommended for deportation.
“Violence of this nature will not be tolerated”
Following the sentencing, Detective Constable Edward Howgate said: “This was a series of violent incidents which caused significant injury and distress to the victims involved.
“Our officers responded promptly, secured key evidence, and carried out a thorough investigation to ensure the offender was brought before the court.
“Violence of this nature will not be tolerated in our community, and we will continue to take robust action against those responsible to protect the public from harm.”
