Guernsey Press

‘I will post naked pics of you online’

AFTER hitting his then-partner in the face with a heavy, glass, candle holder, Maximillian Fawcett went on to threaten the woman, saying that he would release naked pictures of her if she did not withdraw her police statement.

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After assaulting his then-partner, Maximillian Fawcett threatened the woman, saying that he would post naked pictures of her online if she did not withdraw her police statement. Fawcett was handed a suspended prison term and the Royal Court was given assurance that he would get the help he needed, leave the island and not return. (Picture by Adrian Miller, 23643270)

In the Royal Court, Deputy Bailiff Richard McMahon said the crimes were serious enough to warrant a custodial sentence.

‘We have decided, however, to adopt an exceptional course in your case,’ he told the defendant.

Instead, a suspended prison term was handed down and the court was given assurances that Fawcett would get the help he needed, leave the island and not return.

The 22-year-old admitted charges of maliciously wounding and assaulting the woman, as well as attempting to pervert the course of justice.

The violence charges relate to an incident last May, when members of the public saw the woman with a bloody head injury.

After receiving medical treatment, the woman initially said the 4cm cut was caused after she tripped and fell.

Officers went to Fawcett’s home and found blood on the walls.

It was only when the woman spoke to an officer she trusted that she revealed what had happened.

The night before the couple had argued after Fawcett claimed the victim had taken some of his cannabis.

He became agitated and stood on the bed, and fell over.

She laughed and offered to help him up. He instead bit her upper left arm.

He then started throwing the woman’s possessions out the window and, when she tried to fetch them, he stopped her.

She pushed him back onto the bed.

He put out his hand so she could help him up.

When she took it, he pulled her forward onto him and bit her right shoulder, leaving teeth marks. She was crying and he said the relationship was over. He grabbed her right wrist and used her hand to hit himself several times in the face, while saying she abused him.

He then took a glass candle holder, which they used as an ash tray. He hit her in the face with it, saying she deserved what was happening, before throwing it at the wall. She then left.

In interview the defendant denied assaulting her.

Later that month the woman went to withdraw her statement. Again speaking to officer she trusted, she admitted she had been in contact with Fawcett, who had asked her to drop the case. He used apps that deleted the messages after they were read, but the victim had taken screenshots.

In one she said ‘I could of helped you, but not when you think you can still control me and my life! I am not your puppet.’

Then the defendant resorted to threats.

‘Could drip the nudes,’ he wrote, implying he would share naked pictures of her online.

‘All be removed once you go in.’

He later wrote ‘Oi fatty, you gone in yet?’

He initially denied sending any messages, but later admitted everything.

In her victim impact statement, the woman said the incident had made her paranoid and she had trouble sleeping. She missed him, but her life was easier without him.

In the Royal Court defence advocate Samuel Steel said his client had autism and ADHD and that he struggled to control his anger. He said sharing nude photos was an empty threat. He added that his client would get the support he needed after this case.

Deputy Bailiff McMahon said this was a nasty and vicious attack, followed by an attempt to blackmail the victim into silence.

The jurats noted that Fawcett had already been served seven months in prison on remand and that Fawcett was looking to make a fresh start away from Guernsey, with the support of professionals and his family. It was also observed in one report that Fawcett was unlikely to benefit from prison, with the programmes available not appropriate for someone with autism.

The sentence was two years in prison for maliciously wounding, six months for the assault and seven-and-a-half months for perverting the course of justice. These all run concurrently and were suspended for three years.

‘We have decided to this exceptional step on the assurance that you will leave Guernsey,’ Deputy Bailiff McMahon said.

‘You should regard yourself as very fortunate.’

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