Jersey restaurateur sentenced to 15 years in prison after being convicted of rape

A former Jersey restaurant owner has been jailed for 15 years after attacking one woman and raping, assaulting and sexually assaulting another.

Gavin Neil Roberts, 45, co-owner of the now closed Shinzo in St Aubin, appeared in the island’s Royal Court for sentencing.

After an hour and a half of deliberation, Jurats convicted Gavin Neil Roberts, 45, of eleven different offenses – rape, two of sexual penetration without consent, five of common or serious and criminal assault and three of voyeurism – which had occurred between 2018 and 2022.

Roberts clapped sarcastically as the verdict was announced.

In a victim impact statement, one of the women told the court she had been in and out of hospital due to physical and psychological injuries caused by Roberts raping and strangling her.

Crown attorney Matthew Maletroit read a statement from the second victim, a woman who had attacked Roberts twice.

In the statement, the victim said she felt like a confident and independent woman before meeting Roberts.

It continued: “I now feel like this has all been taken away from me and I’m not sure what my future will look like.”

Roberts was arrested on October 30, 2022 after police received reports he had assaulted and raped a woman in St Helier.

The first woman told police Roberts attacked her on October 2, 2022, in Bath Street by pushing her against a doorway and grabbing her by the neck.

On or about October 15, 2022, while abroad, Roberts raped the same victim with a penetrative object.

The incident left the victim with significant facial injuries and bruises to the body.

A second woman subsequently came forward to report a series of assaults between February and September 2022.

The three voyeurism charges related to filming a third woman while they had sex.

The court concluded that he had performed all the actions without consent and without reasonably assuming that consent had been given.

Det Insp Aiden Quenault said: “I would like to take the time to acknowledge the strength and thank those women for their strength in coming forward and supporting us through the prosecution and investigation.”

He added: “I would encourage anyone who has been a victim of domestic violence or sexual violence to contact the police or the many agencies available.”

Maletroit asked the court to consider a “new way” of sentencing rape in Jersey.

He said there had never been local sentencing guidelines for sexual offences, which had led to inconsistency in previous sentences.

Mr Maletroit called on the court to use this conviction as an opportunity to create its own guidelines on rape, involving a not guilty plea and a contested trial.

He recommended a guideline with a starting point of five to six years in prison, rising to a maximum sentence of 15 years for “exceptionally bad” cases involving “extreme harm” to the victim.