Latest news with #StSaviour
BreakingNews.ie
18-07-2025
- BreakingNews.ie
Man (48) given four-year sentence for sexually abusing cousin
A man who sexually abused his three-year-old cousin has been jailed for four years. Darren Dowling (48) of Palace Flats, Palace Close, St Saviour, Jersey, UK, was found guilty of eight counts of oral rape and three counts of indecent assault that took place at a Clondalkin address between 1990 and 1993 against his cousin Alan Murphy following a Central Criminal Court trial in July 2024. Advertisement Mr Murphy has waived his anonymity to have Dowling named. He has three previous convictions, all from Jersey in the UK. The court heard that one of the convictions involved him engaging in messages with an undercover police officer in which he sent a picture of himself holding a 10-month-old child on his knee and referring to how excited he was and that there was a bulge in his pants. He was sentenced to 9 months for this offence. At a previous hearing, Justice Paul Burns said the crimes had an adverse effect on Mr Murphy, leading to him having behavioural problems and abusing alcohol and drugs as a teenager to block out the memory of the abuse. Advertisement The birth of his own children helped him to come to terms with his addictions. 'He is rightly proud of himself for seeing it (the trial process) through, and the court hopes that with further intervention and support from his loving family, he will continue to recover,' Mr Justice Burns said. He set a headline sentence of 13 years for the oral rapes and eight years for the sexual assault, given that the victim was a very young boy at the time of the offending, and his cousin had been placed in a position of trust. He also acknowledged that the abuse had happened in the victim's home, a place which 'ought to have been a place of safety', Mr Justice Burns said. Advertisement He reduced the headline sentences to six and a half years and four years respectively, given that Dowling was a juvenile at the time of the offending. Mr Justice Burns then imposed concurrent sentences of five years and three years before he suspended the final 12 months of the five-year term on strict conditions, including that Dowling engage with the Probation Supervision upon his release. The case was adjourned for mention to allow for the hearing of a case in the Supreme Court in relation to the naming of juvenile accused persons when they reach adulthood, and therefore could not be reported until now. At the previous hearing, Detective Garda Sharon Duncan told Grainne O'Neill, BL, prosecuting, that on July 12th of this year, a jury found Dowling guilty of 11 counts. The court heard that Dowling was Mr Murphy's older cousin and would babysit him and his brother. Advertisement The court heard that while Dowling was babysitting, he would bring Mr Murphy upstairs to the bathroom and place his penis into Mr Murphy's mouth and move his head back and forward. Mr Murphy stated in his evidence that the door would be closed and the offending would last between 10 and 15 minutes. Mr Murphy's brother was outside the bathroom or on the stairs while this was happening. Time of offending The court heard that the abuse would take place 'on each and every occasion' that Dowling would babysit. Mr Murphy described how he would scream and hold onto his mother's leg when she was going out. Mr Murphy was aged between three and six at the time of the offending, and Dowling was aged between 13 and 16. Advertisement Mr Murphy's mother gave evidence during the trial, in which she said that Dowling had begun babysitting her sons around the time of Italia 1990. She said that her son disclosed the abuse to her when he was 15 years old. Mr Murphy's brother gave evidence that Dowling would bring his brother to the bathroom. He said the door was closed and possibly locked, as he had tried to enter the bathroom once but could not. He said that when his brother came out of the bathroom, he would be upset and crying. The Director of Public Prosecutions placed the offences in the 10-15 year band. The court was told that the maximum sentence available for section 4 rape is life in prison and 10 years for each of the indecent assault counts. Detective Garda Duncan read Mr Murphy's victim impact statement to the court, which said: 'I never understood the effect the abuse had on me until I gave up drinking and drugs. I was always acting up and misbehaving. I turned to drink and drugs as an early teen to block out the abuse. No one knew why I was so moody.' He said I was so embarrassed and ashamed of people finding out. 'I was just a little boy; why would he do that to me? It makes me feel sick. I want my boys to know never to be afraid to tell the truth.' He concluded by saying: 'I am so grateful for the results of the trial.' Det Gda Duncan agreed with Hugh Hartnett, SC, defending, that his client met with gardaí in Jersey on a voluntary basis and did not contest this extradition from Jersey. Mr Hartnett said his client was a child at the time of the offending. He said it is 34 years since these offences took place, and his client had set up a life for himself in Jersey. Counsel said Dowling was first told that no prosecution would take place, and then that decision was reversed. He said that there was one 'blemish' on his client's record for which he received a nine-month sentence. Ireland Man (20s) appears in court charged with trying to... Read More Mr Hartnett handed letters of testimonial into the court, which described Dowling as a helpful and kind person to his friends. He asked the court to take into account the very serious factors that distinguished this case from others; he outlined that his client was a child at the time of the offending. He said there was no use of violence except for the act itself, and no threat was made. If you have been affected by any of the issues raised in this article, you can call the national 24-hour Rape Crisis Helpline at 1800-77 8888, access text service and webchat options at or visit Rape Crisis Help.
Yahoo
13-07-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Families invited to enjoy annual Children's Day
Children's Day is returning to Howard Davis Park in Jersey with live music, games, food and drinks. The annual free event brings together parents, children and families and attracted 10,000 islanders in 2024. It will run from 10:00 to 17:00 BST on Sunday. Children's Day was created after being listed as one of the recommendations from the Independent Jersey Care Inquiry in 2017. One of the organisers, Cheyenne O'Connor, who is head of the non-profit, Butterfly Effect, said: "Kids absolutely love it, there's so much to do. All the entertainment is free." The first Children's Day was held in 2020 with tree planting but then had to be paused because of the Covid-19 pandemic. The first public event took place in 2022. Attractions at the park in St Saviour include carousels, bouncy castles and gaming hubs. Ms O'Connor said: "It shows communities coming together which is really nice. "It's also good for families because the cost of living is so high. People can't afford a lot of the activities here. "It's really nice they can come down and not have to worry about that for a day." Food stalls are discounted and people can bring their own picnics, she added. The Butterfly Effect helps survivors of sexual and institutional abuse and supports children in care. She said it had supported more than 900 people since it was launched in 2023 and is looking to take on more staff. "It just shows that it was needed," said Ms O'Connor. More news stories for Jersey Listen to the latest news for Jersey Follow BBC Jersey on X and Facebook. Send your story ideas to Organisations invited to apply for Children's Day Children's fun day looks to 'brighter futures' Abuse survivors offered support, training and jobs Jersey Care Inquiry
BBC News
08-06-2025
- Entertainment
- BBC News
Community art sessions hosted to reimagine Occupation tapestry
Islanders are being invited to paint or colour in their own version of a tapestry marking the Heritage said it was taking its Occupation Tapestry back out into the community in the form of colouring sheets and a large original, hung at the Maritime Museum, was unveiled in 1995 to mark the 50th Liberation Day - with 12 panels of hand-embroidered pictures to depict island life. In 2015, a 13th panel was added to the collection mark Liberation Rodrigues, JH Outreach Curator, said the designs of the original 12 panels had been made into canvases. She said: "We have 12 different panels which represent each parish and they all tell a very interesting story of the Occupation. "It's an opportunity for people to come in and learn a bit about the tapestry, the history as to why it came about and they get an opportunity to paint and engage with the actual panel in their own way." Ms Rodrigues said the sessions were for all ages and abilities."We can get creative, [if] anyone wanted to bring along some material and do a bit of collage, it's a complete open creative session, so it's whatever anyone wants to bring to the table."Workshops will be held at the parish halls in St Saviour, Trinity, St Clement, St Peter and St Lawrence until Thursday 31 July.
BBC News
13-05-2025
- General
- BBC News
Constable reveals plans to create park in St Saviour
Plans to create a new park in a parish in Jersey have been Constable of St Saviour, Kevin Lewis, said the plans, which are for fields next to the parish hall, would revitalise the area and give parishioners more things to £5.66m vision, which would need planning permission, includes a play area, nature trail, cafe and changes to road said the funding would not come from parish rates, but from ringfenced money and potentially government grants, community sponsorships, and private donors. 'Bring parish back to life' The plans are also subject to a public consultation, which asks residents for their ideas and views on each said there was a lack of facilities in the parish and this could improve it."Since Covid, things have gone downhill a little bit, the parish hall's not being used as much as it should do," he said."I want to bring the parish back to life and have St Saviour parish hall as the centre of the parish."He said the plans would connect areas such as St Saviour's School and the woodland below the parish hall. The proposal is split into three phases, which could change depending on public feedback and the funding on the first is expected to start at the end of this year or early next initial phase includes building a 40-space car park, a footpath along La Rue de Patier and a children's play and park second would alter access to Birches Avenue and install a nature trail and final stage includes a community centre, café and a pétanque can see the plans at the parish hall and complete the consultation online.
