Security guard ‘went by hell’ after being wrongly branded racist
A security guard has revealed he ‘went through hell’ after he was branded a racist for detaining a 15-year-old black boy in a Superdrug store — and fears he may never again regain his reputation.
Jake De-Geus, 30, said he was ‘constantly depressed’ and didn’t leave his house for months following the incident back in March 2023.
Even now the father-of-three fears the suspicions of racism will be ‘hard to come back from’, admitting it will be difficult to get back into security work as a result.
Mr De-Geus and his colleague Edwin Hirst, 40, were working as civilian security staff (also known as ‘rangers’), when they were accused of tackling a teenage boy in Superdrug in an ‘unlawful and unjustified’ manner.
Mr De-Geus wept as he told jurors he wasn’t racist, insisted they had been ‘justified’ in deciding to detain the schoolboy, who had refused to leave the store when asked, pretended to steal shampoo and then head-butted him.
Mr De-Geus and his colleague were acquitted of false imprisonment and assault by beating of a teen at Portsmouth Crown Court this week.
Speaking from his home in Chichester today, Mr De-Geus said he had been left in a ‘dark pit’ mentally and has ‘crippling debts’, having missed out on nearly two years of earnings.
But despite this, he is feeling hopeful that he can return to working in the industry he loves.
Jake De-Geus, 30, (pictured today) said he was ‘constantly depressed’ and didn’t leave his house for months following the incident back in March 2023
Jake De-Geus and his colleague Edwin Hirst, who were employed to patrol a high street in Chichester, West Sussex, had been accused of tackling the teen in an ‘unlawful’ and ‘unjustified’ manner (a grab taken from the video)
The father-of-three pictured at his home in Chichester today – he says even now the suspicions of racism will be hard to come back from
The view greeted by police as they arrived on the scene with items scattered across the floor of the shop due to the scuffle
The security guard admitted he didn’t view the not guilty verdicts as ‘justice’ because there have been ‘no repercussions’ for the teens involved.
At the climax to the week-long trial — which he had been accompanied to by his sister, cousin and partner — he said the emotion was too much to process when the jury announced its verdict after just over half an hour of deliberations.
While giving evidence, Mr De-Geus had broke down in the dock as he recounted how the online abuse and accusations of racism had taken a toll on his mental health after a video of the incident in Chichester high street went viral.
‘I broke down,’ he said of his reaction, ‘it’s just my whole life. I took quite a few years to find what I wanted to do and security was my calling card.
‘You can ask every store in town, they loved us and to have that all come crashing down – it [wasn’t] nice.
‘There are people who will think we are racist. It went national, so everyone knows. It’s hard to come back from it, without me doing it all myself and going and speaking to people.
‘In Chichester, I’ve got quite a lot of support but it’s the rest of the country [that don’t know].’
He admitted the incident and its backlash had put a strain on his relationship with his partner.
Mr De-Geus (pictured today) admitted he didn’t view the not guilty verdicts as ‘justice’ because there have been ‘no repercussions’ for the teens involved
Mr De-Geus (pictured today) and his colleague were acquitted of false imprisonment and assault by beating of a teen at Portsmouth Crown Court this week
Mr De-Geus and his colleague Edwin Hirst, 40, (pictured during the incident) were cleared of all charges after a week-long trial at at Portsmouth Crown Court
‘We went through hell,’ he continued. ‘We nearly broke up because of it. I went into a bit of a dark pit because of it all.
‘[She] had a call from social services because they heard I head-butted a child.
‘I had to stay at my mum and sisters for a few days. I was constantly depressed and not wanting to leave the house.’
Detailing the extent of the backlash he received from the video, he continued: ‘It was pretty much all online — I didn’t step foot outside the house.
‘I had to change my Facebook name because I was getting loads of friends requests and messages. The office was getting calls and threats about us.’
Mr De-Geus revealed the abuse stretched as far across as America, where his grandfather lives, in the light of protests against police brutality towards black people after the George Floyd murder.
However, the security guard has a four-year-old black son — from his partner’s old relationship — who he has taken in as his own.
‘Town ranger’ De-Geus (pictured outside Portsmouth Crown Court) insisted they had been ‘justified’ in deciding to detain the schoolboy, who had refused to leave the store when asked, pretended to steal shampoo and then head-butted him
The ‘almighty struggle’ in Chichester, West Sussex sparked outrage online at the time in March last year after a video of the incident went viral on social media (file image of the Superdrug store on East Street in Chichester)
Hirst, 40, (pictured outside Portsmouth Crown Court) was also accused of assault by beating
‘He is like my best friend,’ he said, ‘he knows me as dad. I was happy, had started having a family and then this happened.’
On his son’s knowledge, he said: ‘He doesn’t even know any of this. He thinks I’ve been at meetings all the days. One day I will tell him.’
Mr De-Geus is born and raised in Chichester, so has been wandering the streets long before he started patrolling them as a town ranger.
‘That’s the worst bit,’ he said. I’m so known to Chichester, this is the sort of city where everyone knows everyone.
‘It makes me even more uncomfortable to go outside the house. I’m normally quite a strong-willed person, I have never been this sort before.’
Mr De-Geus and Mr Hirst were both working as ‘town rangers’ in Chichester Business Improvement District (BID) at the time of the incident in March 2023.
‘I lost my job,’ he said, as BID ‘got rid’ of them both ‘straight away’. I got really bad mental health — I didn’t go out for months.
Having taken on door-work, the video circulated again and Mr De-Geus has now been out of work since last summer.
Jake De-Geus (front) speaking to police outside the Superdrug store at the time of the incident
Mr De-Geus (pictured today) hit out at prosecutors for the ‘shambles’ of a case and said it should ‘never have got this far’ after he was acquitted of all charges
Mr De-Geus pictured today at his home said he is feeling hopeful that he can return to working in the industry he loves.
He also hit out at prosecutors for the ‘shambles’ of a case and said it should ‘never have got this far’ after he was acquitted of all charges.
Mr De-Geus claimed the CPS ‘chuck out’ lots of cases of stealing, leading him to question why his had been pursued.
‘This was a shambles,’ he said, ‘it should never have got this far in general — even my barristers said that.’
On whether justice had been served after the not guilty verdicts, he said: ‘Not at all.
‘The fact there has been no repercussions for them doesn’t sit comfortable with me, to be honest.’
He revealed he will be looking to get back into the security industry, but recognises the difficulties he may face trying to do so.
‘I have to reapply for my licence that has eight months left on it — instead of three years,’ he said.
‘It has been a lot of strain on me financially and mentally. And then I have to see if there’s a security firm that will take me on after all this.
‘I can’t blame them for not wanting to hire me.’
He criticised former employers for leaving he and Mr Hirst ‘in the lurch by everyone’.
Mr De-Geus also urged the government to clamp down on shoplifting from youngsters, adding: ‘I do feel the government need to speak up on this.
‘The kids are running riot getting away with what they like — it’s just getting out of control.
‘And us getting chucked into court does no good for anybody. It makes me fear for my boys growing up.’
