WHEN his wife said she was leaving him for a former boyfriend in Alderney, Stephen Henshaw flew to the island and attacked him.
Henshaw’s vicious assault left Jacob Hamon with his jawbone exposed, cuts inside his mouth, other injuries to his face and head and a damaged right kidney.
The 39-year-old from Preston, Lancashire, was given a three-month prison sentence, suspended for three years, by the Court of Alderney after admitting a wounding charge.
Henshaw, a former estate agent, had been told by his wife that she intended to live with Mr Hamon and return to the island where she had lived until the age of 15. The two had become reacquainted through internet site Facebook.
Inspector Paul Yabsley, prosecuting, said Henshaw had approached Mr Hamon while he had been kneeling down working on a boat. He used his fists to strike him in the head, causing him to fall to the floor.
‘As Mr Hamon was getting up, the defendant kicked him in the area of the chin. This caused Mr Hamon to fall to the floor again, after which he was kicked in the back.’
Following the attack, Henshaw and Mr Hamon had a verbal exchange during which Mr Hamon said the defendant had ‘got the wrong man’.
Advocate Julia White, mitigating, said the defendant had not travelled to Alderney for a fight. ‘He booked into the Victoria Hotel and agreed to meet friends. He was not planning to beat up Mr Hamon and fly back to Manchester quickly in order to escape punishment.’
Advocate White said Henshaw felt he had nothing to live for after losing his job as a result of his marriage break-up. ‘This incident is due to the culmination of many traumatic and stressful events. Since my client’s wife has made contact with Mr Hamon, she has visited Alderney and subsequently returned to say their marriage is over.
‘She had said she was prepared to leave him with their children, an eight-year-old boy who is autistic, and a three-year-old girl. However, my client’s wife has since said she intends to take the children with her. This decision left my client feeling he has nothing to live for as he lost his job as a result of taking time off work to care for the children while his wife was in Alderney.’ Advocate White added that Henshaw had led a blameless life for almost 40 years.
Sentencing, Jurat Colin Partridge said: ‘Your early guilty plea and previous good character were noted, but the jurats cannot ignore the fact you carried out a deliberate assault which caused injuries.’
Henshaw’s father, who was sitting in the public gallery, wept as the verdict was announced. He also thanked the jurats as he left court.
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