The defendant (40) was found guilty by a jury at a Royal Court trial in February.
The landmark case was the first of its kind since a law change that allowed prosecutions for sexual offences allegedly committed in foreign countries. The JEP has chosen not to name the defendant to protect the identity of his wife and children.
Following the sentencing, Detective Constable Martin Davies, from the States police Public Protection Unit, said: ‘The States of Jersey Police have the utmost determination to investigate and prosecute all sexual offenders and we can assure victims that there is help available from a number of agencies that are in a position to offer support and guidance through all stages of the criminal-justice process.
‘We remain committed to working with our partners, especially support and advocacy services such as the Sexual Assault Referral Centre at Dewberry House, Jersey Action Against Rape and the Jersey Women’s Refuge, to encourage victims of sexual crime to report such incidents.’
Crown Advocate Simon Thomas, prosecuting, said that the incident took place in 2018 and that the defendant was now estranged from his wife.
In 2018 the couple’s marriage began to suffer difficulties and it was heard that the defendant had started an affair with another woman.
In the two months leading up to the rape, the victim sent several emails to the defendant and in one said: ‘I’m not prepared to feel used and abused,’ adding she was not going to be at his beck and call for sex.
The family were on holiday in November 2018 and were all staying in the same room in a log cabin when the offence happened.
On the morning on 1 December, the pair were in bed together with their children asleep in the same room.
The victim was on her side when she felt the defendant behind her. He proceeded to rape her. The court heard how the victim clenched her fists and the defendant said to her: ‘This is my last chance to be close to you.’
When she accused her husband of raping her the following day, he said she was being ridiculous and he had done nothing to her.
She reported the incident to the police in December and the defendant was charged with rape in April 2019.
Advocate Thomas described the incident as ‘a gross breach of trust’, adding that there was an absence of remorse from the defendant.
The case was the first of its kind in Jersey. Under previous legislation the defendant could not have been tried in the Island for the offence.
Advocate Thomas moved for a sentence of five years and for the defendant to be placed on the sex offenders register for seven years.
Advocate David Steenson, defending, said it was the defendant’s case that he continued to deny that the incident was anything other than consensual.
He said his client was still in a state of shock and was remorseful about his affair, the breakdown in his marriage and the impact the incident had had on his children.
Advocate Steenson added: ‘He is sorry for himself as his life is ruined and even if his appeal is successful it pales into insignificance when he thinks of the damage the incident has done to his children.’
The lawyer said there was no need for a deterrent sentence and urged the court to be as lenient as possible.
Along with the custodial sentence, the defendant was ordered not to go within 50 metres of the victim, or contact her, for four years.
Royal Court Commissioner Sir William Bailhache was presiding. He was joined by Jurats Jerry Ramsden, Jane Ronge and Robert Christensen.
