"Did he just kick her in the head?!"

Friday 24 January 2020

Police officers were left "aghast and in disbelief" when they came across a man kicking a woman in the head in College Street.

For that, Krystian Chlasta, 36, has been sentenced to four months in prison and given a two year probation order for assaulting a woman in College Street, St Peter Port on 22 June last year.

In sentencing, Judge Graeme McKerrell said he had a vivid recollection of how "appalled" he was when he first viewed the altercation on CCTV footage. He also recalled what the police officers who encountered Chlasta had said following the incident. 

"They were not inexperienced police officers and one said to the other, something along the lines of, “Did he just kick her in the head?”

"It was not a question, but a statement of disbelief."

Defence Advocate Robin Cowling said that incident was completely out of character for his client and amounted to "a 10-second moment of stupidity and madness".

His client has since reduced his alcohol consumption, which was an aggravating factor, and has been signed off with stress and anxiety since October due to the ongoing legal process. 

Judge McKerrell said the probation report was highly complex and showed that a prison sentence would have serious personal and professional consequences. 

However, he could have caused serious harm to the woman, who fortunately suffered no lasting injuries. 

"The author of the probation report is clearly troubled by the mixed messages you are giving […] and I share her concerns."

Judge McKerrell took what he said was an unusual course of action in sentencing Chlasta to a lengthy probation order in addition to a custodial sentence. He said the probation order was needed to "get behind [Chlasta's] mask". 

"Kicks to the head are always serious and are always capable of causing death.”

Because of the two year probation order, Judge McKerrell halved the prison sentence he originally had in mind - eight months - to four.