Former Guernsey Chief Minister and serving member of the island’s parliament Jonathan Le Tocq has pleaded guilty to creating more than 2,400 indecent images of children.
Le Tocq, served as the island’s chief minister between March 2014 and May 2016.
Deputy Lindsay de Sausmarez, President of the Policy & Resources Committee, the new title for Guernsey’s chief minister, said: “Jonathan Le Tocq’s guilty plea has deepened my heartbreak and empathy for his victims: my thoughts remain very much with them and all others affected by his actions, including his family, church community, colleagues and constituents, many of whom will be understandably angry, and some of whose lives will have been turned upside down.
“Details that have emerged of these heinous crimes have shocked me and many others to the core. What compounds that shock is the profound betrayal of the trust that so many had placed in him – not least through his position as an elected representative of the people of Guernsey.
“It’s that betrayal of people’s trust that I have struggled most with, personally. It’s destabilising and corrosive, because it can undermine our confidence in what we understand to be true more generally.
“What gives me hope, though, is that we are a strong and close community: we shouldn’t underestimate the impact that these crimes will have had on many islanders, but I’m confident people will support those affected with sensitivity.”
Crimes
The BBC has reported he appeared in court earlier today and pleaded guilty to all 15 counts:
- Seven counts of sending by means of telecoms network an indecent message
- Making a pseudo indecent image of a child – minimum of 230 x Category A
- Making an indecent image of a child – minimum of 13 x Category A
- Making a pseudo indecent image of a child – minimum of 1731 x Category C
- Making an indecent image of a child – minimum of 10 x Category C
- Distributing a pseudo indecent image of a child – 1 x Category C
- Possession of extreme pornographic images – 218
- Making a pseudo indecent image of a child – minimum of 486 x Category B
- Making an indecent image of a child – minimum of 10 x Category B