Man who threw boy off Tate Modern balcony sentenced for attacking nurses at Broadmoor

Thursday, 8 January 2026 

Jonty Bravery, the man who threw a six-year-old boy from a balcony at London’s Tate Modern, has been jailed for a further 16 weeks after attacking two nurses at Broadmoor Hospital, a high-security psychiatric facility in Berkshire.

The 24-year-old assaulted the staff members in September 2024, kicking one nurse in the thigh and clawing at the face of another, leaving her bleeding. He was convicted in November but refused to attend his trial or appear via video link at sentencing on Thursday at Westminster Magistrates’ Court.

One of the victims, Linda McKinlay, described the terrifying ordeal to the court. “He attacked my face, he was clawing at my face. My eye and my face were all scratched,” she said, adding that she was left shaken and bleeding. “In all my years of being in Broadmoor, I’ve never been attacked.”

Prosecutors said the incident occurred after Bravery attempted to climb onto a window ledge in his cell. Nurses Kate Mastalerz and Linda McKinlay intervened to prevent him from harming himself, but were assaulted during the struggle. Ms Mastalerz was left with a bruised thigh.

Footage shown in court captured staff restraining Bravery on the floor as others rushed to help, with one voice heard shouting: “Jesus Christ, do something.”

The court heard that Bravery is monitored around the clock by three members of staff and that his room contains only a mattress due to the risks he poses. It was also revealed that he had previously attempted to throw himself from the windowsill and was screaming, shouting and kicking as staff tried to calm him.

Bravery is already serving a life sentence with a minimum term of 15 years for the 2019 attack at the Tate Modern, where he threw a six-year-old French boy from the 10th floor. The child survived the 100ft fall but suffered devastating injuries, including multiple broken bones and a brain bleed.

The new 16-week sentence will run concurrently with his life term. The judge noted that it was “very unlikely” Bravery would ever be released unless there was a significant change in his condition.

This is not the first time Bravery has assaulted staff at Broadmoor. In 2020, he was jailed for 14 weeks for punching a nursing assistant, pulling her hair, and biting the finger of another colleague who tried to intervene.

The boy injured in the Tate Modern attack spent months in intensive care and continues to undergo long-term rehabilitation. His parents have said that while he can now run, jump and swim to some extent, he still struggles with memory and faces further medical treatment.