IT entrepreneur gets 8 years for indecent assaults on child

Monday 02 October 2017

A 48-year-old man has been sentenced to eight years in prison by the Royal Court for a series of indecent assaults on a young girl. He'll also have to pay £50,000 to the victim, and remain on the Sex Offenders' Register for a decade.

Mark Beaufort Loane, a well-known figure in Jersey's IT industry, was found unanimously guilty of the indecent assaults by a jury in July this year.

Today, Crown Advocate David Steenson told Court that the indecent assaults started when the victim was very young and carried on over a period of eight years. He also told Court that the victim and her mother confronted Loane in October 2016 and that, although he consistently denied sexual abuse, he admitted to looking at her inappropriately "maybe once."

Advocate Steenson said that the victim's impact statement made it clear that the abuse had affected her profoundly. He told the Court she suffered from post-traumatic Stress Disorder and that there was no date as to when she would recover, or if she would recover at all. 

The Crown Advocate suggested a 10-year prison sentence and asked for a compensation order of £50,000 in favour of the victim, for the psychiatric and psychological damage the abuse has caused.

Advocate Stephen Baker, who was defending Loane, said that his client simply asked the Court for justice and to be treated fairly. He urged the Court not to forget that Loane is a man of good character, adding: "His reputation has been lost as a result of the conviction and it is a reputation he will never get back." He also noted that Loane was active in the community and was involved in the organisation of Jersey Recovery College before adding that the convictions have had tragic consequences on him and his family. He then urged the Court to consider a shorter sentence, "on the basis of long standing, long established practices in Jersey for this type of offence."

Handing out his sentence, Royal Court Commissioner Julian Clyde- Smith, who was sitting with Jurats Crill, Pitman, Olsen, Blampied, and Ramsden said they agreed it was right to impose a greater sentence in view of the offences before them. He therefore sentenced Loane to eight years in prison and also ordered him to pay the victim £50,000 within the next month. He also issued a 15-year restraining order, preventing him from being alone with any female under the age of 16, or to approach the complainant. Loane will also appear on the Sex Offenders' Register for ten years.

Following the sentencing, the Police praised the victim for coming forward after being subject to "serious sexual abuse." A statement read: "The victim has shown incredible courage in reporting the abuse she suffered to the police and since the initial disclosure has shown strength and commitment in supporting the investigation to its conclusion. The huge emotional impact on the victim is impossible to quantify but without doubt long-lasting. We hope that the sentences handed down today will help her to rebuild her life and gives her some small comfort.

The NSPCC Jersey also praised the victim. A spokesperson said: “Loane has rightly been held to account for the years of appalling abuse he carried out on his victim. His shocking behaviour robbed his victim of her childhood and has clearly had an enormous impact on her into adulthood. Loane may have thought he had got away with what he did, but thanks to her bravery, he is now behind bars. It is absolutely right that people who suffered child sexual abuse can seek justice and support no matter how much time has passed since their ordeal."