Victim horse 'jailed' while abuser is free

HORSE abuser Leeroy Le Gallais has been beaten up. The attack happened the day after he was released on probation after being found guilty of attempting a sex act with the animal.

Confirmation of his injuries and hospitalisation came on the same day that the owners of the horse targeted by Le Gallais said their animal had been punished more than he had.

While Le Gallais is free, their 25-year-old thoroughbred has been 'jailed' for his own safety.

Michael and Margaret Wortley insist Le Gallais should have been sent to prison and made to receive treatment instead of being freed on a three-year probation order.

Their fear of repeat incidents mean gentle and vulnerable Calico is kept in his stable behind iron bars.

'He is locked in like a prisoner while Le Gallais has walked free. He has not been punished - it's a ridiculous sentence,' said Mrs Wortley.

And they believe that acts of indecency had taken place at the horse's stable at Les Landelles, Castel, before Le Gallais was caught.

'We feel the horse owners in Guernsey need to know that this was not an isolated incident,' they said.

They claimed yesterday that their horse had been 'groomed like a paedophile might groom a child'.

'We have been through eight months of hell and he got just two-and-a-half months in prison 'on remand' and walks free. What sort of message does that send out?'

The couple are highly suspicious that incidents had occurred since July - they had been reported to police months before Le Gallais was caught in October.

'In July we found a piece of wood with nails in that had come from a mounting block inside Calico's stable. It was normally outside. That was the first indication that somebody had been into the stable,' they said.

In August they found Le Gallais's mobile phone outside the stable. He said it had been stolen and cancelled the same day.

'At that time we discovered that Calico's back was injured and it took two months to heal. There was bruising around his rear muscles as though he had been pulled on,' said Mr Wortley.

A vet confirmed it was an unusual back injury.

Padlocks were installed on the stable door and in August the couple placed CCTV cameras outside which cost £8 a day to hire from a security firm. In October they were taken out.

Traps were set inside the stable to enable Mr and Mrs Wortley to detect if anything had been moved.

'We drove around in the middle of the night trying to catch him,' said Mrs Wortley.

Her husband added: 'I even slept in the tack room some nights.

'It's lucky we did not catch him because I would probably be in prison myself now.

'There is no knowing what I would have done if I had caught him.'

The couple still wake up every morning worried about what they might find.

'You don't think people will go to this extreme. We feel this guy has been around and has got the horse's confidence and groomed him like a paedophile would a child,' said Mr Wortley.

'It would have been worse if it had happened to a child because the long-term effects would have been greater. However, it's a cowardly act because a dumb animal would never be able to say, ?it was him?.

'We would urge all other horse owners in Guernsey to ensure their horses are protected.

'Today it was Calico. Tomorrow it could be any other horse in Guernsey.

'It's the first incident of its kind in Guernsey that has been discovered and the sentence does not send out the message that it would not be tolerated in future.'

Mrs Wortley said: 'We want people with horses to be vigilant - we still don't know why he picked on us and Calico.

'Our other horse, Chestnut, would have kicked him and our previous horse would have killed him.

'Perhaps he 'would be' safer in prison than out.'

The couple praised the actions of vet David Chamberlain for securing the evidence that led to Le Gallais' conviction.