Jonty Bravery, the man serving a life sentence for throwing a six-year-old boy from the 10th-floor balcony of the Tate Modern, has been handed a fresh prison term for attacking hospital staff.
Violent Assault on Caregivers
The 24-year-old was convicted of assaulting two nurses, Linda McKinlay and Kate Mastalerz, at Broadmoor high-security psychiatric hospital in Berkshire. The incident occurred in September when Bravery kicked one nurse in the thigh and clawed at the face of another, causing her cheek to bleed.
Chief Magistrate Paul Goldspring, sentencing him on Thursday, stated that the very people who "care" for Bravery became the victims of his assaults. He imposed a further 16-week sentence, which will run concurrently with his existing life term.
Details of the Broadmoor Incident
The court heard that the attack unfolded around 9:30 pm after Bravery asked to use the toilet. Prosecutor Tom Heslop explained that afterwards, Bravery attempted to climb a ledge to throw himself from it.
When nurses tried to restrain him, placing him on his mattress, he lashed out. He kicked Ms Mastalerz in the thigh and clawed across Ms McKinlay's face. Body-worn footage shown in court captured the struggle, with a distressed staff member heard exclaiming, "Jesus Christ do something."
Ms McKinlay, a grandmother, told the court this was the first time she had been attacked in her lengthy career at Broadmoor. "He attacked my face, he was clawing at my face. My eye and my face were all scratched. In the aftermath I was very shaken," she said. She required hospital treatment for her injuries.
A History of Violence and Previous Conviction
This is not Bravery's first conviction for assaulting staff at Broadmoor. In 2020, he received a 14-week sentence after pleading guilty to attacking a nursing assistant and a rehabilitation therapist.
Bravery is currently detained under a life sentence, with a minimum term of 15 years, for the horrific 2019 attack at the Tate Modern gallery in London. He threw a young French boy from the viewing platform, causing the child to suffer life-altering injuries including a brain haemorrhage and multiple fractures in a 100ft fall.
The court was told Bravery requires supervision by three staff members 24 hours a day, seven days a week and is kept in a room containing only a mattress. He declined to appear via video link for the latest sentencing hearing.
