WOMEN will be “protected” by the Island’s justice system, the Royal Court has promised, as it sentenced a 64-year-old man to three years and three months in jail for sexually touching a teenage girl.
In September, a jury unanimously found Gordon James Burnett guilty of one count of sexual touching without consent and he was sentenced yesterday.
The court heard how Burnett, an IT manager who lives in Brighton and has previously worked for Sussex Police, had attended a party in Jersey.
He sat at the bar next to the girl, struck up a conversation with her and put his hand up her skirt and inside her underwear. He was described as “incredibly drunk”.
“He was old enough to be her grandfather,” said Crown Advocate Mike Preston, prosecuting.
The incident was caught on video by another guest and several witnesses appeared during the trial on behalf of the prosecution.
Burnett had at first claimed that he had been too drunk to remember the night, before later describing “flashbacks”, Crown Advocate Preston said.
“Perhaps conveniently, the defendant could not remember standing near a young girl,” he said.
He criticised the defence in the trial for asking the girl why she had not moved while the assault was happening, saying this was “a regrettable line of cross-examination”.
Since the assault, the girl had avoided going out as she was “scared that such a thing might happen to her again”.
The assault “took away her sense of safety,” he said.
She had nightmares and struggled to focus on school, Crown Advocate Preston said, and worried about what people might think of her if they heard about the assault.
Her evidence had been “consistent and wholly reliable”. She said she had reacted by freezing and by squeezing a friend’s hand.
“She was shaking and crying,” the advocate said.
The prosecution asked for three years and six months.
Advocate Olaf Blakeley, defending, moved for a sentence of two-and-a-half years.
He presented “a raft” of personal references to the court, which described “a man who is well-regarded by his colleagues and his family”.
Burnett had no previous convictions and assessments found he was at low risk of reoffending, Advocate Blakeley said.
Burnett still denies the allegation and has started the process of appealing against his conviction.
The Deputy Bailiff, Robert MacRae, presiding, told Burnett: “As a consequence of your offending, your victim struggled at school and is very reluctant to socialise.
“She has been referred to the NSPCC for counselling and told a counsellor that she thought the incident was in some way her fault.
“The victim in this case who was described during the trial as a kind, caring and compassionate young woman… described herself as a changed person as a consequence of your offending.
“Women must know and trust that they will be protected by the courts of Jersey and that offenders who are convicted of sexual assault will be punished with custodial terms which fit the crime.”
He sentenced Burnett to three years and three months’ imprisonment, placed him on the sex offenders’ register for a minimum of five years and gave him a restraining order.
The Deputy Bailiff presided alongside Jurats Austin-Vautier and Le Heuzé.
