Convicted paedophile jailed for trip with boy

Lee Albert Phoenix, who in 2011 was jailed for seven years for a string of sexual offences against a young boy, admitted breaching the terms of a restraining order put in place when he left prison in 2014.

Under the terms of the order, Phoenix (41), who was originally known as Lee Albert de Mouilpied but changed his name in 2012 while in prison, was ordered not to have any unsupervised contact with children for a period of ten years.

The Royal Court yesterday heard that despite the breaches, which Phoenix admitted, there was no suggestion of any sexual motivation behind the offences.

Phoenix had taken the boy to the hotel spa on two separate occasions in March and April last year. As a member of the spa, Phoenix was allowed one guest per month.

Attorney General Robert MacRae, prosecuting, said that the original offending for which Phoenix was jailed in 2011 involved ‘the defendant befriending the child, grooming him with presents and assaulting him in his own home over a number of years’.

Calling for Phoenix to be jailed for a year for the breaches, Mr MacRae added: ‘The restraining order is needed because the defendant poses a risk of serious sexual harm to others.

‘A strong message needs to be sent that a defendant must take all reasonable steps to comply and remove himself from such a situation.’

The Royal Court heard that during his time in prison, Phoenix had not undergone any sexual offender rehabilitation treatment.

Phoenix, who represented himself in court, said that he ‘accepted responsibility’ for the breaches but argued that the 12-month sentence suggested by the Crown was too long.

After handing a printed statement to the Deputy Bailiff Tim Le Cocq, presiding, and Jurats Collette Crill and Rozanne Thomas, Phoenix said: ‘I agree with the Crown – it was a deliberate breach.

‘I entered a guilty plea at the earliest opportunity and I feel six months for each count to be excessive.

‘I have seen the effect this has had on my family and will not put them through it again. I apologise to the court for the breaches and I will fully comply with the order going forward.’

Delivering the court’s sentence, Mr Le Cocq said that Phoenix had been in ‘flagrant breach’ of the order.

He said: ‘These breaches were not accidental and you were fully aware of what you were doing. The fact is that restraining orders of this nature are there in order to protect people and they cannot be simply ignored.

‘We are sufficient in our view that, in you, we have someone who will ignore such an order and we must mark your offending with the seriousness it warrants.’

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