Edward John Louis Paisnel (19251994), dubbed the Beast of Jersey, was a notorious
sex offender who terrorised the
Channel Island
The Channel Islands ( nrf, Îles d'la Manche; french: îles Anglo-Normandes or ''îles de la Manche'') are an archipelago in the English Channel, off the French coast of Normandy. They include two Crown Dependencies: the Bailiwick of Jersey, ...
of
Jersey
Jersey ( , ; nrf, Jèrri, label=Jèrriais ), officially the Bailiwick of Jersey (french: Bailliage de Jersey, links=no; Jèrriais: ), is an island country and self-governing Crown Dependencies, Crown Dependency near the coast of north-west F ...
between 1957 and 1971. He entered homes at night dressed in a rubber mask and nail-studded wristlets, attacking women and children. His wife, Joan Paisnel, was the founder of a community home in Jersey where, at her request, he once played
Santa Claus
Santa Claus, also known as Father Christmas, Saint Nicholas, Saint Nick, Kris Kringle, or simply Santa, is a Legend, legendary figure originating in Western Christianity, Western Christian culture who is said to Christmas gift-bringer, bring ...
.
Wrong suspect
Suspicion for the attacks initially fell on eccentric agricultural worker and fisherman
Alphonse Le Gastelois
Alphonse Le Gastelois (14 October 1914 – 3 June 2012) was an Farmworker, agricultural worker and fisherman from Jersey who lived in self-imposed exile on the Écréhous, Écréhous reef for 14 years after being wrongly accused of a string of s ...
, who was arrested but released through lack of evidence. Public suspicion remained so strong, however, that Le Gastelois' cottage was burnt down in an act of arson. Le Gastelois, fearing for his life, fled to Les
Écréhous
The Écréhous (or in Jèrriais: ''Êcrého'') are a group of islands and rocks situated six miles (9.6 km) north-east of Jersey, and eight miles (12.8 km) from France. They form part of the Bailiwick of Jersey and are administratively ...
where he spent 14 years in self-imposed exile on La Marmotière as the second self-styled ''king of the Écréhous'' despite being cleared of suspicion when the attacks of the Beast of Jersey continued unabated.
Capture and conviction
On 17 July 1971 Edward Paisnel was stopped by the police after running a red traffic light and then attempting to evade police pursuit. In the car, which he had stolen earlier that evening, police discovered several pointed sticks and elements of his "Beast" costume. In December 1971 he was convicted of 13 counts of assault,
rape
Rape is a type of sexual assault usually involving sexual intercourse or other forms of sexual penetration carried out against a person without their consent. The act may be carried out by physical force, coercion, abuse of authority, or ag ...
and
sodomy
Sodomy () or buggery (British English) is generally anal or oral sex between people, or sexual activity between a person and a non-human animal ( bestiality), but it may also mean any non- procreative sexual activity. Originally, the term ''sodo ...
and sentenced to 30 years in prison.
Biography
In 1972 his wife Joan Paisnel wrote the book ''The Beast of Jersey'' (published by
NEL Paperbacks, ).
After the trial, freelance journalist
Alan Shadrake
Alan Shadrake (born mid-1934) is a British author and former journalist, who was convicted in Singapore in 2010 of contempt of court for Offence of scandalizing the court in Singapore, scandalising the Singapore judicial system, through his publ ...
became Joan Paisnel's literary agent, and ghost-wrote a first person article with John Lisners which was published in the ''
Sunday Mirror
The ''Sunday Mirror'' is the Sunday sister paper of the ''Daily Mirror''. It began life in 1915 as the ''Sunday Pictorial'' and was renamed the ''Sunday Mirror'' in 1963. In 2016 it had an average weekly circulation of 620,861, dropping marke ...
'' under the title "The Beauty & the Beast" with a photograph of Mrs. Paisnel, in a ballet dance pose in white, and a police photo of her husband wearing the horrific mask which he wore when he kidnapped and assaulted his victims. One source, however, reports that at the trial it was stated that Paisnel never wore the mask during his attacks.
[Ward Rutherford: The Untimely Silence, Hamish Hamilton, London 1973]
Later life
Edward Paisnel returned to Jersey briefly following his release from prison but moved away due to the strength of local feeling against him. He died on the
Isle of Wight
The Isle of Wight ( ) is a county in the English Channel, off the coast of Hampshire, from which it is separated by the Solent. It is the largest and second-most populous island of England. Referred to as 'The Island' by residents, the Isle of ...
in 1994.
References
External links
Channel Television news archive including video
{{DEFAULTSORT:Paisnel, Edward John Louis
1925 births
1994 deaths
Jersey criminals
English rapists
British people convicted of rape
People convicted of sodomy
Jersey prisoners and detainees
Prisoners and detainees of Jersey
Deaths in England
British people convicted of assault