Jonty Bravery, who threw six-year-old off Tate Modern, sentenced for attacking nurses at Broadmoor

A man who threw a six-year-old boy off a balcony at Tate Modern was jailed for 16 weeks at Westminster Magistrates’ Court for attacking two nurses in Broadmoor.

Jonty Bravery was convicted of assaulting nurses Linda McKinlay and Kate Mastalerz at Broadmoor Hospital in September 2024, kicking one nurse in the thigh and “clawing” the other in the face, leaving blood dripping from her cheek.

The 24-year-old was previously sentenced to life imprisonment for throwing a French boy from the 10th-floor balcony of TateModern in 2019 and is currently being held at Broadmoor, a high-security psychiatric hospital in Berkshire.

Chief Justice Paul Goldspring, who found Bravery guilty of two assaults on Thursday, said those who “cared about” Bravery were the targets of his attacks.

The 16-week prison sentence will run concurrently with the minimum 15-year prison sentence.

The judge said it was “very unlikely” that Bravery would be deemed safe to be released after the 15-year period “unless there is a significant change”.

Speaking about the Broadmoor attack, prosecutor Tom Heslop told the court: “At around 9.30pm Mr Bravery wanted to go to the toilet. After using the bathroom he climbed onto a ledge and tried to throw himself off.”

Mr Heslop said nurses tried to restrain him by placing him on his bed before laying him on his back.

The court heard Bravery “kicked towards Ms Mastalerz”, striking her in the thigh and “clawing” at Ms McKinlay’s face, leaving blood dripping from her cheek.

Body footage played at the hearing showed nurses struggling with Bravery on the floor before other staff rushed into the room to help.

An earlier hearing at Westminster Magistrates’ Court heard nurses were trying to stop Bravery, who must be supervised by three staff at all times, from climbing onto a ledge and throwing himself off it.

Ms McKinlay, a grandmother, told the court it was the first time she had been attacked at Broadmoor in her long career.

In 2020, Bravery was jailed for a further 14 weeks after admitting assaulting staff at Broadmoor Hospital. He punched assistant Sarah Edwards in the head and face before pulling her hair. He later bit rehab therapist assistant Maxwell King on the finger when he came to help his colleague.

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