Six months in jail for ‘gut you like a fish’ man
A 29-YEAR-OLD man who told two juveniles that he ‘would gut them like a fish’ while holding a knife in his hand was jailed for six months in the Magistrate’s Court.
Ciaran Millar told the court he lived at 14, Rue d’Abri, St Sampson’s, but said he was about to move. He had denied assaulting the two boys but was found guilty at trial.
The trial heard how the defendant had been fishing near Fort Pembroke. The boys had been swimming there. When they returned to their bicycles a dirty nappy had been left on one of them and words were exchanged after they challenged the defendant about it.
Millar had 21 entries on his record between 2006 and July 2015 including public order offences, resisting arrest, being found drunk, a large number for disorderly behaviour, criminal damage and bail breaches.
Advocate Candy Fletcher said her client had intended to put the nappy in a bin, but the boys had confronted him about it.
The behaviour had not been planned and he had not run after the boys. He had severe mental health issues, including social phobia and agoraphobia.
Judge Cherry McMillen asked why, if the defendant had social phobia and agoraphobia, he was near a beach with other people?
One of the boys said he had never been so scared in his life. The defendant had shown no remorse or insight to his offending.
A probation officer said he had shown little sympathy for his victims and said they were lying.
Judge McMillen accepted that Millar had taken the knife with him that day for fishing and not for any other purpose.
She said she wished to acknowledge the courage of the boys in coming to court to give evidence and that of an independent couple who given their own input at the trial.
Millar was sentenced to six months in prison, concurrent, for each offence, and forfeiture and destruction of the knife was ordered.
