Magistrate: Homeless woman in wheelchair “preyed on good nature of islanders”

Friday 15 January 2021

A homeless woman in a wheelchair, who arrived in Jersey in July, has been found guilty of fraud, malicious damage and leaving her own excrement in shops, cafés and other facilities around the island.

German-born Sonia Selwig (53), who is not thought to have any local connections, was found guilty of all eight charges she faced in a Magistrate’s Court trial on Thursday.

Four of the charges related to Selwig leaving excrement, urine and soiled nappies in places around the Island where she slept, which included doorways, service stations and benches.

This also included the Jersey Accommodation and Activity Centre in St Martin, where Selwig stayed not long after arriving in Jersey.

Owner John Fox told the trial that when Selwig had initially booked online, he first suspected it was a scam as she used three different names in correspondence. However, she then transferred a £40 deposit and turned up on 24 July.

Pictured: Selwig booked to stay at the Jersey Accommodation and Activity Centre above Gorey for two weeks.

He said that his staff were immediately concerned for her welfare and began to ring social services but, accepting her as a paying guest, she was given a ground-floor room next to a disabled bathroom.

Booked in for two weeks, Selwig consistently refused to pay the £530 balance, despite being asked repeatedly. Mr Fox also had growing concerns about the state of her hygiene and room. 

“We had rules that we couldn’t enter rooms because of Covid, so we were asking guests to leave rubbish outside their doors,” he said. “The smell from her bedroom was disgusting and I couldn’t go within four or five metres without wanting to throw up.

“We had to warn people if they were in that area there would be a smell.”

Mr Fox added that, after eight or nine days, he gave Selwig three days to settle her bill or she would have to leave.

When she was out on that final day, the door codes were changed and he called the police, who spoke to her when she returned before she moved to Maison Gorey, where her first night had been paid for by a sympathetic guest at the centre.

Mr Fox then described the clean-up operation to the court.

“It took two members of staff in full PPE six hours to pack up her belongings. The twin beds were both sodden with excrement and urine - they had to be dumped. Most of the floor tiles had been churned up and were stained, and the wallpaper was torn.

“We had to totally redecorate the room - and it’s still not completely finished.”

Other witnesses at the trial told similar stories of initial trust followed by shock and disgust. Elaine Rowland, manager of the Village Tea Room at St. Peter’s Community Centre, said that she had found Selwig outside the café on 15 September charging up her chair using an external plug.

Mrs Rowland let her continue and also helped her to use the indoor disabled toilet - but Selwig defecated, urinated and left soiled nappies on the floor. 

She also did this outside the Les Quennevais Sports Centre and both inside and outside the Morrison’s stores at Haute Croix and Five Oaks.

Although remanded in custody since October, Selwig refused to attend court on Thursday by video link from HMP La Moye so Magistrate Bridget Shaw ruled that the trial could take place without her. Selwig had also sacked three defence lawyers in the run-up to the trial so was unrepresented in court. 

In reaching guilty verdicts on all counts, Mrs Shaw said: “The defendant preyed on the good nature of people in Jersey. She obtained electricity, WiFi and food from them but repaid these kind people by leaving areas foul. 

“Not only was it repulsive but it was a health hazard and a grim task for those who had to clean up after her.

“At the Jersey Accommodation and Activity Centre, she left the room in a truly repulsive state and there is no excuse for this behaviour. The damage was not simply horrific for staff, but dangerous to their health and it took a great deal of time and money to fix.”

Selwig will be sentenced on Monday, when she will be given a further opportunity to appear by video link. The Magistrate will also consider a deportation order, which was served on Selwig in October.