The Judicial Committee of the Privy Council handed down its judgment at 11.00 a.m. today dismissing the appeal of Curtis Warren and others (the appellants). The appellants had sought to overturn the decision of the Jersey Court of Appeal which had upheld the decision of the trial judge, Sir Richard Tucker Q.C., Commissioner, refusing to quash the indictment laid against the appellants as an abuse of process.

A copy of the judgment and a press release from the Privy Council will be found at the following link:

http://www.jcpc.gov.uk/news/latest-judgments.html

They were convicted of common assault on children who were residents at the premises known as Haut de la Garenne in the Parish of St Martin in Jersey.

The offences were committed against children between eight and 16 years of age on various dates between October 1981 and December 1984.

Morgan Jordan, who worked at the children’s home between 1970 and 1984, was convicted of assaults including pushing a child’s face into urine-soaked sheets after the child wet the bed, and striking other children with her hand and a wooden shoe. Her husband was convicted of striking children with a metal spoon, a knife and his hand.

Morag Jordan was acquitted of a further 28 counts and her husband of a further four. They were sentenced by Judge Sir Christopher Pitchers and an Inferior Number of Jurats.

Notes to Editors:
1. The judge was Commissioner Sir Christopher Pitchers
2. The prosecution counsel was Crown Advocate Stephen Baker
3. The defence counsel for Morag Jordan was Advocate Michael Preston
4. The defence counsel for Anthony Jordan was Advocate Sue Pearmain
5. For more information on the Jersey Court system, please go to www.jerseycourts.je

For media queries please contact Shelly Naylor, Press Officer for the Royal Court on 020 7261 8326 – shelly.naylor@coi.gsi.gov.uk

After deliberating for more than eight hours, the jury, made up of six men and six women, convicted Mrs Jordan of eight counts of common assault on children who were residents at the premises known as Haut de la Garenne in the Parish of St Martin in Jersey in the 1970s and 1980s.

Mrs Jordan was acquitted on another 28 counts.

Mr Jordan was also convicted on eight counts of common assault on children. He was acquitted on a further four counts.

The alleged offences are said to have been committed against children between eight and 16 years old on various dates between October 1981 and December 1984.

The couple were bailed to return to the court for sentencing on 6th January 2011.

At the start of the trial, Mr and Mrs Jordan both entered ‘’not guilty’’ pleas to 48 counts of common assault.

A trial date has been scheduled for 15 November 2010. Mr and Mrs Jordan were remanded on conditional bail to their home address in Scotland until the trial.

Mrs Jordan is charged with the 35 separate counts of common assault which she is alleged to have carried out against children at the premises known as Haut de la Garenne in the Parish of St Martin in Jersey in the 1970s and 1980s.

The alleged offences against children aged between one and 17 years old, are said to have been committed on various dates between November 1970 and May 1984.

Anthony Jordan is charged with 14 counts of common assault which are alleged to have been carried out against children at the premises known as Haut de la Garenne, in the Parish of St Martin in Jersey. The alleged offences against children aged between eight and 16 years old, are said to have been committed against children who were aged on various dates between October 1981 and December 1984.

Mr and Mrs Jordan denied the charges and have been remanded on conditional bail to their home address in Scotland. A trial into the charges will be heard at a date to be fixed.

The six men were convicted on 7 October 2009 for conspiring to import cannabis, with a street value of £1 million, into the Island of Jersey.

Curtis Warren, Jonathan Welsh, James O’Brien and Jason Woodward had also applied for leave to appeal against their sentences. Mr Warren is currently serving a 13 year sentence in HMP Belmarsh. Mr Welsh is serving a 12 year sentence, Mr O’Brien is serving a 10 year sentence and Mr Woodward is serving a five year sentence at La Moye prison in Jersey. Mr Hunt and Mr Lucas did not make applications for leave to appeal against their sentences.

The Court of Appeal in Jersey considered several separate points of law. The application for the discharge of juror number 125 was rejected; Warren, Welsh, O’Brien and Lucas were granted leave to appeal on disclosure, but the appeal was rejected. An application for leave to appeal on the grounds that the defence were unable to call three key witnesses during the trial was refused. A ‘fair trial’ application was also refused.

Advocate Michael Haines on behalf of Paul Hunt made an application on Sir Richard Tucker’s directions on conspiracy and this was also refused. The appeals of Warren, Welsh, O’Brien, Woodward, Hunt and Lucas were all rejected as the Panel found a miscarriage of justice had not occurred. Warren, Welsh, Woodward and O’Brien lost their appeals against sentence.

The applications for leave to appeal were heard over two days (Tuesday 23 March and Wednesday 24 March 2010) before a panel consisting of Dame Heather Steel, the President of the Court, Michael Jones QC and James McNeill QC.

In a judgement lasting three hours, the Court of Appeal panel said they were satisfied that all six men had received fair trials and therefore their convictions and sentences stood.

Morag Jordan is charged with 32 counts of common assault, dating from 1970 to 1984. Her husband, Anthony Jordan is charged with 14 counts of common assault, dating from 1978 to 1984.

All but one of the charges relate to alleged offences at the Haut de la Garenne children’s home in the Parish of St Martin, Jersey. One charge against Morag Jordan relates to an alleged offence in the Parish of St Mary, Jersey.

Each of the 46 charges are alleged common assaults on children aged between one year and 17 years.

The case was committed to the Royal Court. The date for Indictment before the Royal Court is yet to be set. Morag and Anthony Jordan were remanded on bail until the next hearing.

All six men entered applications for leave to appeal against their convictions. Messrs Warren, Welsh, O’Brien and Woodward also applied for their sentences to be reduced.

The panel, formed of Dame Heather Steel, Michael Jones QC and James McNeill QC, have retired to consider their decision.

The decision and reasons for the decision will be given on 5 May.

All six defendants were convicted on 07 October 2009 for conspiring to import a controlled substance, namely cannabis resin, into Jersey. At a sentencing hearing in December 2009, Curtis Warren was sentenced to 13 years imprisonment; Jonathan Welsh was sentenced to 12 years; James O’Brien was sentenced to 10 years; Jason Woodward, Paul Hunt and Oliver Lucas were each sentenced to five years.

The applications will be heard by Dame Heather Steel, Michael Jones QC, and James McNeill, QC, Judges of Appeal.

The applications for leave to appeal were heard over two days (Tuesday 19 January and Thursday 21 January 2010) before a panel consisting of Dame Heather Steel, the president of the court, Clare Montgomery QC and Michael Jones QC.

After two trials Claude James Donnelly was convicted on 18 June 2009 of five counts of rape, 13 counts of indecent assault and one count of procuring an act of gross indecency. He was sentenced to 15 years imprisonment on 21 August 2009.

Gordon Claude Wateridge was convicted on 20 August 2009 of 11 counts of indecent assault and one count of common assault. He was sentenced on 21 September 2009 to two years imprisonment.

Advocate Michael Preston, appearing for both Mr Donnelly and for Mr Wateridge, applied for leave to appeal on the grounds of abuse of process. In the case of Mr Wateridge, Advocate Preston claimed the jury should have been discharged because of the late disclosure of emails between two complainants. Advocate Preston’s application for leave to appeal against Mr Wateridge’s sentence cited his age, his low-risk of reoffending and his ill health. For both men, their lawyer claimed the jail terms handed down had been “manifestly excessive” – a claim rejected by the Court of Appeal.

In a judgement lasting 45 minutes the Court of Appeal panel said they were satisfied that both men had received fair trials and therefore their convictions and sentences stood.

Notes to Editors
1. The text of the full judgement will be available to view on www.jerseylaw.je the week commencing 25 January 2010.
2. Further details about Jersey’s judicial processes can be found on www.jerseycourts.je