Sex offender offered a witness £20,000 to withdraw her statement
A man who assaulted a child by penetration offered a witness £20,000 to withdraw her statement, the Royal Court was told.
Aedan Dupont, 28, from Alderney, who appeared from custody, admitted a total of four offences.
Prosecuting Advocate Phoebe Cobb told the court that during the summer of 2022 the defendant assaulted the child by penetration. The child told its mother about it in the December. Police were contacted in January 2023 and when arrested, the defendant denied the allegation.
In November 2023 Dupont approached a witness for the impending trial in a local bar and offered her £20,000 to withdraw her statement, an offer he later reiterated to a member of her family. He said he was ‘looking at 15 years’ if he was convicted.
On New Year’s Eve in The Chez Bar in Alderney he slapped the bottom of a woman who was waiting to be served at the bar. She told him not to do it again but he did not react.
The woman told a friend what had happened and she reported it to the bar manager. Dupont was asked to leave but said he would not go quietly and threatened to punch her.
He eventually left but returned wanting to collect his jacket. An altercation occurred and he threw a punch at the bar manager. It did not connect but she cut her elbow in an effort to dodge the blow.
Dupont was arrested. He gave no comment responses in interview and as he was on bail for the earlier offences, he was remanded in custody, where had been ever since.
He denied the assault by penetration and perverting the course of justice before changing his pleas on the eve of his trial. He admitted sexually assaulting the woman in The Chez Bar, and assaulting the bar manager there.
Defending, Advocate Samuel Steel said while his client had not pleaded guilty to the first sexual offence at the earliest opportunity, he done so quickly enough to spare people having to travel to Guernsey for a trial. He wished to apologise to the victim. Alcohol and drug consumption had affected him at the time.
Perverting the course of justice went to the heart of the criminal justice system, but seeing the witness in the pub had been coincidental and his action was not planned. He did not have the money anyway and was again under the influence of alcohol at the time.
Judge Catherine Fooks said sexual offences caused lifelong harm to people and they had to be punished and deterred. The defendant had taken 'a serious wrong turn'. The court noted the references submitted on his behalf but had to treat them with caution as the writers demonstrated no sympathy for the victims. Alcohol was a theme running through his offending, she said.
For the assault by penetration, perverting the course of justice, and the sexual assault, sentences of 40, seven and three months in prison were imposed consecutively. Two months concurrent were meted for the assault.
A three-month suspended sentence for drink-driving, resisting and assaulting a police officer, imposed by the Alderney Court in 2021, was activated consecutively, giving a total sentence of 53 months.
An extended sentence licence will be in place for five years from his release from prison and notification requirements for 10 years.
