Gary Connery, a professional skydiver, and stuntman was sentenced to 18 months in jail for pushing his former girlfriend down a flight of stairs, reportedly breaking her shoulder and giving her a cut to the head. The official charge he was found guilty of was causing grievous bodily harm without intent.
Judge Nigel Daley added in his sentencing statement that Connery has “shown absolutely no remorse for what happened and accept no fault on your behalf.”
Connery also received a restraining order preventing him from contacting his ex-partner. She provided a statement read by the prosecution which included her saying “the impact on every aspect of my life has been enormous,” and that she moved back home and has been relying on her family since the incident.
Connery has had some interesting media opportunities. Along with sharing a name, but no relation, to the late Bond actor Sean Connery, the skydiver also once played Queen Elizabeth when jumping out of a helicopter at the 2012 Summer Olympics opening ceremony.
He has also performed stunts in Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull and Batman Begins.
His defense attorney attempted to brand the event as “impulsive” and “spontaneous,” and that language may have worked on the jury as they relented from hitting him with the worse charge of causing grievous bodily harm with intent.
