A COUPLE responsible for a racially motivated onslaught of verbal and physical abuse outside a mosque during the holiest month of the Islamic calendar have been jailed.
Tamara Nadine Dubois (36) and Jade Clarke James Hamon (52) intimidated a group of worshippers into “fearing for their safety” during a “deeply unpleasant” and unprovoked incident of religious abuse in March this year, a court has heard.
Both defendants were found guilty following a three-day trial in September of racially motivated threatening and abusive conduct outside the Islamic Centre in St Helier.
Dubois further admitted assaulting a teenage child and two others members of the Muslim congregation.
At the Royal Court yesterday, the two Islanders were collectively sentenced to a total of 20 months imprisonment for their respective roles in the attack.
Commissioner Alan Binnington, presiding, said it was the court’s duty to “send out a message that such behaviour will not be tolerated in an Island where individuals of all faiths should feel safe to practise their own religion”.
In her submission, Crown Advocate Lauren Taylor, prosecuting, said that the offences committed were “religiously motivated” and “demonstrated clear hostility towards a specific group of individuals”.
She said that the offending began with Dubois aggressively approaching a child sitting outside the Mosque reading a book, with Hamon telling her: “Stop reading the f****** Qur’an”.
Their actions, the court heard, caused the young girl to “move away and start walking down the road”, which led to Dubois following her.
Advocate Taylor said that the female defendant got “so close” to the child complainant that her “lower body was pressed against her’s”.
The victim later decided to go to the front of the Mosque and shut the gate, but it was heard that Dubois continued to stand “so close to her that she could smell her breath”.
The prosecutor explained that, following prayers, a group of worshippers intervened upon noticing Dubois harassing the child.
“A witness stated that the focus of Dubois’ aggression then shifted from the complainant to members of the congregation who had formed the barrier.
“The couple [then] became aggressive towards him and the other gentleman present, using phrases such as ‘sex traffickers’ and alleging that they were grooming children”, she added.
During an ensuing melee, Dubois kicked out at one worshipper before attempting to punch another, it was said.
She then shouted at one of them “to f*** off and go back to [their] own country”, as the young girl targeted by Dubois was “ushered” back towards the Mosque, the prosecutor said.
The court heard that another witness then saw Dubois attempting to reach over the Mosque gate, whilst shouting: “I will inject you with pork…I’m going to make sure you eat pork”.
CCTV footage of the incident, referred to by the prosecution, showed Hamon “carrying a large placard depicting a raised middle finger” as Dubois assaults the worshippers.
A witness observing the incident from a first-floor window heard him shout: “F*** you and f*** your religion”.
The couple, who were arrested the same day, later denied in police interview that their actions had been racially or religiously motivated.
Advocate Taylor argued that their offending was made worse by the timing of the incident, which took place during the holy month of Ramadan.
In a personal impact statement, the child assaulted by Dubois said that the incident led to her not leaving the house for “over a month” for fear of being “physically assaulted because of my appearance”.
She wrote: “Since this incident I’m scared to leave my house, the reason for this is I’m scared I will be attacked again.”
Another victim explained that he had “always thought of Jersey as a welcoming and inclusive community in which to raise his young family”, but is now “questioning” whether the Island “is a place to feel safe and accepted”.
The court heard that one congregation member added that he was shocked that “something like this could happen in Jersey – a place I have called home for over eight years”.
The prosecutor then said that, while on police bail for the Mosque offences, the couple were caught importing 19.09g of heroin on a ferry from St Malo to Jersey on 21 June 2026.
Dubois was found by Customs officers to have internally concealed a package containing the drug, later revealed to have an estimated street value of between £9,500 and £13,300.
Both defendants pleaded guilty to importing heroin at the Magistrate’s Court on 22 June, with Hamon later admitting possession of 1.1g of cannabis at his home address.
Advocate Julie-Anne Dix, defending Dubois, said that the attack in March this year “was not premeditated” and “not planned”.
She stated that the couple were “on the way to the Harbour” and happened to pass by the Mosque by “pure coincidence”. She added that her client “didn’t even know” what Ramadan was at the time of the offending.
“Nonetheless,” she said, “Ms Dubois knows that she should have walked away that day.”
The lawyer explained that Dubois had turned to drug-taking as a result of “extreme trauma”, which had left her “unable to leave her home” and “having panic attacks in public”.
For Hamon, Advocate Heidi Heath said this client had turned to heroin after being affected by negative press coverage following the incident outside the Islamic Centre.
She told the court that her client had initially been the “peacemaker” during the attack, but that he accepted his later actions conduct was “wholly inappropriate”.
Delivering the court’s sentence, Mr Binnington told the couple that their “deeply unpleasant” actions had caused “considerable distress” to the Island’s Islamic community.
He said: “Worshippers of whatever religion are entitled to come and go to their place of worship without fear of abuse.
“These worshippers were at their place of worship during Ramadan, this being a period that is of particular significance for those of the Islamic faith.
“You turned what should have been a time of peace and reflection into an episode in which they were subject to religious abuse which clearly made them fear for their safety, both at the time and in the future.”
Dubois received a sentence of 14 months for her offending outside the Mosque, and three years’ imprisonment for the importation of heroin.
Hamon was sentenced to six months for his conduct in March, and also given three years in custody for the importation of heroin.
The commissioner granted restraining orders sought against the couple by three of the complainants, and a further restraining order preventing the couple from being within 50m of the Mosque.
An order for the forfeiture and destruction of both the drugs, and Hamon’s placard, was also made.
