A man serving a life sentence for throwing a six-year-old boy from the Tate Modern balcony has been given an additional jail term for viciously attacking psychiatric hospital staff. Jonty Bravery, now 24, was sentenced to 16 weeks in prison for assaulting two nurses at the high-security Broadmoor Hospital in Berkshire.
Violent Attack During Disturbance
The assaults occurred in September last year after Bravery attempted to harm himself. Prosecutor Tom Heslop told Westminster Magistrates' Court that Bravery, who requires constant monitoring by three staff, had asked to use the toilet around 9:30pm. Afterward, he tried to climb a ledge to throw himself from it.
Nurses Linda McKinlay and Kate Mastalerz intervened to restrain him, placing him on his mattress. It was then that Bravery kicked Ms Mastalerz in the thigh and clawed at Ms McKinlay's face, leaving her with scratches and blood dripping down her cheek.
Staff Testify to 'Very Stressful' Ordeal
Body-worn footage shown in court captured the chaotic struggle, with a panicked staff member heard shouting, "Jesus Christ do something." Ms McKinlay, a grandmother with a long career at Broadmoor, stated this was her first-ever attack at the facility.
"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 testified. Ms Mastalerz described the incident as a "very stressful situation" and was left with a bruised thigh from the kick. Ms McKinlay required hospital treatment for her injuries.
A History of Violence and a Life Sentence
This is not Bravery's first conviction for assaulting staff at Broadmoor. In 2020, he was jailed for 14 weeks after admitting attacks on two other workers, including punching one and biting another.
Bravery is currently detained at Broadmoor after being given a life sentence in June 2020 for the chilling 2019 attack at the Tate Modern gallery. When he was 17, he threw a French six-year-old boy from the 10th-floor viewing platform. The child miraculously survived the 100-foot fall but sustained life-changing injuries, including a brain bleed and multiple fractures.
Finding him guilty of the latest assaults, Chief Magistrate Paul Goldspring concluded Bravery had "gone too far." The 16-week sentence will run concurrently with his existing life term.
