A FORMER leader in Jersey’s Scouts has been jailed after subjecting a child to an historic “campaign of abuse” including hitting them with a knife and force-feeding them.
Beverley Rose Colley (56) was convicted of two counts of causing harm to a child and two counts of assault after a Royal Court trial earlier this year.
Appearing before the Royal Court yesterday for sentencing, it was heard that Colley had “little regard” for her victim.
Colley, a long-time Scouts volunteer, served as its most senior leader in the Island around the time of the abuse, although her offending did not take place in a Scouts context.
Crown Advocate Mike Preston, prosecuting, described Colley’s offending as “akin to a campaign of abuse” and that the child had suffered “multiple forms of abuse, being verbal, physical, emotional, force-feeding and financial abuse”.
All four charges referred to punishments inflicted on the child over the course of several years.
Colley “repeatedly and intentionally punished [the victim] by forcing her to swallow the contents of a pot which contained mustard and other hot ingredients”, the court was told.
This “medicine pot” was punishment for swearing and other behaviour Colley deemed bad, Advocate Preston said, adding that the defendant would force the child to swallow a larger spoonful, “muzzle” their mouth and give her “no choice but to swallow”.
The second count of causing harm to a child referred to occasions when Colley used the flat of a 10-inch bread knife or a wooden spoon to hit the child.
The first count of common assault related to an incident in which Colley used a shoe to hit the victim, while the second assault happened when the defendant struck her with a plate of hot food, which spilled over the child and left them with redness. Colley then used her hands and arms to “inflict blows”, mainly with an open palm.
The abuse was made more serious by the presence of other children, Advocate Preston added.
The Probation Service concluded that Colley “appears to have little regard for the impact of her behaviour on [the victim] and appears to be in denial”, the court heard. Advocate Preston also pointed to a recent Facebook post by Colley that showed her attitude had not changed.
Advocate James Bell, defending, said Colley had proved her good character by volunteering in the community for two decades – citing work for the Scouts and how this work “branches out” into other engagements.
Her work in the community “reflects well on her… and stands her in good stead”, he said.
“She has undertaken a particular kind of volunteer work for 20 years or so. This is not a flash in the pan, not a recent approach, this is something she has done for two decades.”
Advocate Bell said Colley was her elderly mother’s full-time carer, working between 35 and 80 hours per week to support her.
Colley had experienced a number of traumatic experiences, including as a child, he added, and had “next to no support” when she suffered mental health issues.
When the Deputy Bailiff asked whether she had expressed remorse, Advocate Bell said she was sorry that the now-adult victim “feels this way”.
The probation officer recommended community service as a direct alternative to prison, Advocate Bell added.
Deputy Bailiff Mark Temple, presiding, cast the deciding vote after the Jurats were split between sentences of community service and prison.
He said: “You express no remorse for the offences and appear to blame others, such as your ex-husband, who gave evidence at trial.
“You posted on Facebook a lengthy post denying your guilt and essentially asserting that there was no evidence in support of your conviction – unanimously by the jury in this case”.
He added: “Careful consideration to a community sentence in this case, however, by the majority, the court has concluded that only a custodial sentence sufficiently punishes the seriousness of this offending, which involved a sustained campaign of abuse towards [the victim], for which you show no remorse.”
Colley was also given a restraining order.
The Deputy Bailiff was presiding with Jurats Jane Ronge and Andrew Cornish.
