HORSE abuser Leeroy Le Gallais had previously been convicted of a serious sexual offence involving people, the Guernsey Press can reveal. He was jailed for 11 months for a sex attack on a child.

An ashamed close relative is claiming he is a danger to the public and is demanding that the island be warned.

‘I don’t think paedophiles should be protected,’ she said.

The woman, who asked not to be named for her own safety, believes it is in the public interest for islanders to know he has been convicted of sexual offences.

‘It’s disgusting. He is free to commit serious offences again,’ she warned.

Guernsey Press inquiries have confirmed that Le Gallais was jailed for 11 months in January 2004 for gross indecency involving an 11-year-old girl.

He denied two counts of indecent assault and one of indecency and was criticised by the court for his child victim having to appear and give evidence.

‘He has done this ‘horse abuse’, even though he has been in prison.

‘It obviously didn’t deter him, did it?’

She questioned why his previous convictions had not been exposed.

Some details did emerge while Le Gallais was on remand but for legal reasons these could not be published at the time.

No direct reference was made to them when Le Gallais was sentenced for his horse abuse offence, although assistant-Magistrate Philip Robey said there were previous matters recorded against him that he must take into account before sentencing him to three years probation with supervision.

At an earlier hearing, the assistant-Magistrate had said that there was a substantial risk of Le Gallais committing further offences, but that also could not be reported at the time.

It was mentioned during the horse abuse case that Le Gallais had no previous record of sexual offences with animals.

‘I thought that once someone has been convicted the public has a right to know this and can be aware that this man is a threat to society, their families, their pets,’ said the woman.

She said it has been a nightmare for her, with people cracking jokes and pointing fingers at her because of the actions of her relative.

The woman has suffered panic attacks and has been forced to shut herself away.

‘But now I have seen what his sentence is, I have had to stand up and let the public know there is more to this than has been reported,’ she said.

She claimed that she had warned the police about his actions and believes the incidents were preventable. She was told that the police could not take any more action.

‘He was being supervised and the police said they were keeping an eye on him, but obviously it was not enough.’

She is worried he could change his name and should not be let anywhere near children or animals. She has not spoken to him for six years.

‘The rest of the family have just buried their heads in the sand. He should not be walking around free. I feel like I have had a sentence as well,’ she said.

‘I fear he will do something again. Perhaps there is something wrong psychologically with him. Perhaps he is a danger to the public – they don’t know about his previous and they should know. It should not be covered up.’

She believes Guernsey does not have the proper facilities to deal with him and he would get better help in the UK.

Guernsey children remain at risk from paedophiles because the island still does not have a sex offenders register.

It is not known how many people who have been convicted of sex offences are living in the island.

A register is planned but it is unclear if it will include those already convicted or just those convicted after it is put in place.

The Home Department was unable to confirm the timescale for a register.

Divorce proceedings involving Le Gallais are currently registered with the courts.