Audio emerges of former police officer Andrew Allan Jaunay, sentenced for assaulting teenage boy

Chilling audio has emerged of an on duty police officer telling the teen he assaulted he was “a very cheeky boy”. Hear the audio recorded on the victim’s phone.

A former police officer who assaulted a teenage boy in Whyalla has avoided immediate jail in part because of his excellent record of service.

Chilling audio recovered from the victim’s phone has come to light where Andrew Allan Jaunay, a police officer at the time, can be heard telling a 17-year-old boy he will “come and hunt you down”.

Andrew Allan Jaunay, 43, was convicted of aggravated assault causing harm in November last year while his co-accused Sean Gregory Hobbs was acquitted of the charge.

Mr Jaunay also told his victim he was “‘a very cheeky boy’ and “we’ll say we didn’t do it”.

Jaunay slapped Matthew Odgers, then 17, to the ground after finding a drug pipe in his possession during a stop and search in Whyalla Stuart on October 25, 2013.

In February Mr Odgers gave a victim impact statement to court, stating he had developed post-traumatic stress disorder and anxiety after the incident and it had “destroyed his life”.

Mr Odgers’ mobile phone recorded both the incident and several comments made by Jaunay.

The voice recording of Jaunay, said: “Now if you want to tell your mum that we f***ing belted you, guess what, go right ahead … we will say we didn’t do it.”

Appearing at the Elizabeth Magistrates Court on Tuesday Jaunay received a three-month suspended jail term, subject to a one-year good behaviour bond.

Jaunay’s lawyer submitted two psychologists’ reports to the court.

Magistrate Ben Sale said the reports indicated Jaunay was suffering from PTSD before the incident due to persistent traumatic events working as a police officer and continued to suffer symptoms.

Andrew Allan Jaunay leaves the Elizabeth Magistrates Court after being sentenced. Picture: Jason Katsaras

“(The doctor) says work-related stressors including being attacked and beaten, confrontations with angry and violent offenders on your own and a lack of support as you perceived it from South Australia Police were, and are, causative of your symptoms,” Mr Sale said.

“Many of the traumatic events that you experienced as a South Australian police officer, but not all occurred prior to the date of this event.

“In 2009, you wrote a letter to your superiors seeking help and outlining your difficulties, but there was no follow-up.

“When asked how you might deal with incarceration both (doctors) gave dire predictions as to your ability to cope.”

Mr Sale said from his assessment from the doctors’ reports, Jaunay should not have been an active police officer on the evening the offence occurred.

“Your reaction to the rudeness you felt Mr Odgers was showing you in front of younger, junior officers caused you to lash out – it seems to have been a brief loss of control,” he said.

Mr Sale said it was not lost on him that without Mr Odgers’ phone recording, he may not have been satisfied of Jaunay’s guilt.

“In my view, and having regard to the fact that this was an offence is aggravated, was committed against someone under the age of 18, who suffered physical injury as well as psychological consequences and the effort you made to discourage the victim from making a claim, the conclusion I have reached is that the offence is of such seriousness that the only justifiable penalty is imprisonment,” Mr Sale said.

He said Jaunay’s behaviour since the event and work as a police officer contributed to his decision to suspend the jail term.

“Good reasons can be found in the combination of your prior exceptional character, decades of service to the community in your roles as a police officer, as well as the fact that it has been over eight years since this offence and there's been no offending since,” Mr Sale said.