Mark Fernandes committed the offence in May 2019. He pleaded not guilty but was convicted following a Royal Court trial last year.
Crown Advocate Emma Hollywood, prosecuting, told the Royal Court yesterday that Fernandes and his victim had been at the same event. She said: ‘She was extremely drunk. She fell several times and had to be helped into a car.’
CCTV footage later showed Fernandes and the victim at St Helier Marina. Two security guards also spotted them, with one describing the victim as ‘annihilated’.
She woke at 6am, the court heard, frightened and unable to remember what had happened, but a medical examination proved that sex had taken place.
Crown Advocate Hollywood added: ‘It was a serious sexual offence against a vulnerable woman.’
The court also heard that the victim had suffered ‘mild psychological harm’ as a result. She had been left frightened to go out and said in a statement: ‘I’m trying to get back to normal again.’
Advocate Julian Gollop, defending, said: ‘A prosecution witness confirmed that despite her being unable to walk in her high heels, she was able to talk, able to joke.
‘This is not from the defence perspective someone who didn’t know what was going on.
‘There is no evidence of use of violence and no evidence of use of a weapon. It wasn’t planned or targeted. He hadn’t gone out of his way to get the victim drunk. It was spur of the moment at the end of an evening.’
He also said that Fernandes had no previous convictions, had many positive character references and was ‘assessed as low risk of general reconviction’.
Commissioner Sir William Bailhache, presiding, accepted that Fernandes had not used violence in the attack but said: ‘Rape is rape and he stands convicted unanimously by a jury.’
Fernandes was sentenced to four years in prison and a restraining order preventing him from contacting the victim directly or indirectly, including via social media, for five years was imposed.
Jurats Pamela Pitman, Jeremy Ramsden and Rozanne Thomas were sitting.
Speaking after the sentence was delivered, Detective Inspector Christina MacLennan, head of the Criminal Investigation Department, said: ‘Help is available from a number of agencies who can offer support and guidance to victims of sexual assaults and we remain committed to working with our partners, especially support and advocacy services such as the SARC at Dewberry House, JAAR and the Jersey Women’s Refuge, to encourage victims of sexual crime to report such incidents.
‘Thankfully, rape is a very rare occurrence in Jersey and we will do our utmost to investigate and bring perpetrators to justice.’
