Bodyguard for Meghan and Harry is giant ex-policeman convicted of throttling wife

A BODYGUARD pictured with the Duke and Duchess of Sussex is a former policeman convicted of strangling his wife.

Pere Daobry was seen driving Prince Harry and Meghan in a Range Rover from Frogmore Cottage earlier this month.

The 6ft 7in bodybuilder, 51, who used to be a Met firearms officer, was convicted of assaulting his wife Sarah Jay, a former Essex Police sergeant in 2016. She had declared she no longer loved him.

He escaped a jail term after magistrates gave him credit for his ‘decency’ in dialling 999 and confessing: ‘I tried to strangle her.’

The revelation that he acted as a bodyguard for the Sussexes will raise eyebrows because Meghan has long championed women’s rights and campaigned against gender-based violence.

She declared in a 2019 speech that men and boys should be held accountable for their actions.

In an interview after her husband’s conviction, Mrs Jay, who took her own life later that year, said: ‘I suffered at the hands of this lunatic for two years. I am devastated he isn’t behind bars. He deserves to be.

‘For any man to do this is terrible – for a policeman to do what he did is outrageous. He nearly killed me. All he got is a slap on the wrists. What deterrent is that for other men?’

She added: ‘When I met him, I was a strong, confident, capable woman. I could never have imagined being a victim of domestic violence. I was terrified, isolated and had no one to turn to. I was only seconds away from death – that terrifies me.’

Describing the attack, which took place after a row in the couple’s bedroom in December 2015, she said: ‘He grabbed me. The next thing I remember was being on my back. I was struggling to breathe. I could feel his rage. He had his hands around my neck and was choking me.

‘All I could concentrate on was staying alive. I was gasping for breath but couldn’t get any in. I realised I had to lay still, not struggle and breathe through my nose. Trying to do that was the last thing I remember.’ It will come as an embarrassment to Harry and Meghan who have campaigned to raise awareness about domestic violence through their Archewell Foundation.

A source said: ‘When you consider how outspoken Meghan is on women’s issues, it’s quite amazing that a bodyguard with that sort of background has been employed. His wife Sarah went through a really traumatic time with him and I think if Meghan and Harry knew the full story, they wouldn’t be at all comfortable with him being employed as their bodyguard.’

At his trial, Colchester magistrates’ court was told how the exofficer, who was employed by the Met for 12 years before turning to private security work, rang 999 and said: ‘I want to report an assault and I am the perpetrator. I have assaulted my wife.’ Asked if she needed medical help, he replied: ‘Yeah, I tried to strangle her.’ Mrs Jay suffered scratches to her neck and back, pain to her neck and swelling on her forehead.

At the hearing, Daobry claimed to have used a police-approved chokehold to stop Mrs Jay from taking an overdose of prescribed tablets at their home in the village of Thorpe-le-Soken, Essex.

But magistrates rejected his evidence ‘entirely’ and found him guilty of assault. It was serious enough for him to have been jailed but instead he was handed a 12week suspended prison sentence.

Daobry was ordered to carry out 200 hours of unpaid work, handed a year-long restraining order and told to pay £1,665, including £930 in compensation to Mrs Jay and £620 in court costs.

When MailOnline showed Daobry’s parents, who live in north London, the photos, they confirmed it was their son but added: ‘He never tells us about his work. We didn’t know he was guarding them but we are very proud of him.’

Domestic abuse campaigner David Challen said: ‘Pere Daobry is a violent, convicted domestic abuser who should be in jail, not be bodyguarding Harry and Meghan. Daobry strangled his ex-wife Sarah Jay, leaving her seconds from death after a two-year campaign of mental and physical torture, for which he served no custodial sentence.

‘That Sarah has since lost her battle with PTSD and depression to suicide, Daobry’s new role as a trusted protection officer to the Sussexes is nothing short of an insult to Sarah Jay’s memory.’

‘Seconds away from death’