EDWARD PAISNEL THE BEAST OF JERSEY: A TERROR ON THE CHANNEL ISLANDS

Edward Paisnel (1925 – 1994), known as the Beast of Jersey, was a notorious sex offender who instilled fear across the Channel Island of Jersey for a span of eleven years starting in 1960. He would break into homes at night, wearing a rubber mask and nail-studded wristlets, assaulting women and children. Allegations that he visited the Haut de la Garenne children's home have been disputed.

His wife, Joan Paisnel, was the founder of another community home in Jersey. It was at her request that Paisnel once played Santa Claus there.

Serial sex attacker Edward Paisnel, depicted on the left wearing the costume and mask used during his crimes, earned the moniker 'The Beast of Jersey.' He is also believed to have visited Haut de la Garenne.

Initially, suspicion for the attacks fell on an eccentric farmer and fisherman, Alphonse Le Gastelois, who was arrested but later released due to insufficient evidence. However, public suspicion remained high, leading to Le Gastelois's cottage being set ablaze in an act of arson.

Fearing for his safety, Le Gastelois fled to Les Écréhous, where he spent 14 years in self-imposed exile on La Marmotière, and was even crowned the second self-styled king of the Écréhous. Despite this, the attacks by the Beast of Jersey persisted, and he was cleared of suspicion.

On 17 July 1971, Paisnel was stopped by police after running a red light and attempting to evade arrest. They found parts of his 'Beast' costume in his car, which had been stolen earlier that evening. In December of the same year, he was convicted on 13 charges—including assault, rape, and sodomy—and sentenced to 30 years in prison.

In 1972, his wife Joan Paisnel authored the book 'The Beast of Jersey,' published by NEL Paperbacks.

Following his release, Edward Paisnel briefly returned to Jersey but relocated due to the intense public backlash. He passed away in the Isle of Wight in 1994.

Additional details reveal that Paisnel was affectionately known as Uncle Ted, as he handed out sweets and toys to children while attempting to groom them. The son of a wealthy Jersey landowner, he terrorized the island for over a decade by abducting and abusing children. Obsessed with black magic, he wore a rubber mask and nail-studded bracelets during his attacks.

Paisnel idolized Gilles de Rais, a French child-murderer hanged in 1440 for killing around 200 children he lured to his castle 'for my daily pleasure.'

He was 46 years old when captured and found guilty of 13 crimes, serving a 30-year sentence until his death in 1994.