STATE OF TASMANIA v JESSE REECE JAMES MARCH 29 AUGUST 2025
COMMENTS ON PASSING SENTENCE BRETT J
Mr March, you have pleaded guilty to one count of persistent sexual abuse of a child and two counts of assault.
Over a period of approximately one month between late December 2023 and early February 2024, you engaged in a sexual relationship with a female who was then aged 13. You were aged 29 when the relationship started. There were frequent acts of sexual intercourse during the relevant period. However, the crime of persistent sexual abuse is comprised of four identified occasions. Each occasion consisted of penile-vaginal intercourse, and occurred with the consent of the complainant.
The circumstances in which the relationship commenced shed light on its nature. You and your long-term partner and your three children had travelled to Tasmania from the mainland for a two-week holiday. During the holiday, you were arrested for driving and family violence matters. You were considered a flight risk and remanded in custody. Before this, you had met the complainant who was living in a car. She was not regularly attending school and had some dealings with youth justice. You provided her with some assistance. You were aware then of her true age.
On 13 December 2023, you were released on bail. You were prevented from approaching your partner by bail conditions. You resumed contact with the complainant, and shortly after that, the sexual relationship commenced. The first occasion of sexual intercourse occurred while you were consuming illicit drugs together. Illicit drug use by both of you continued throughout the duration of the sexual relationship. The complainant had used drugs before but when she was with you, she was using on a daily basis. At least two of the particularised occasions of sexual intercourse coincided with the mutual use of illicit drugs.
The two assaults occurred during the period of the relationship and on separate days. One occurred after an argument when the complainant yelled at you. You put your right arm around her neck and pushed her head back with your left arm. This restricted her breathing and she believes that she in fact lost consciousness. When she regained consciousness, you threatened her. This included threats to kill her family and loved ones and her dog. The other assault occurred in the context of you expressing your jealousy to the complainant. You attempted to put your arm around her neck. She tried to avoid you and hit her head against a closet. You also threatened to kill her. She suffered a bruise on her face as a result of this assault.
The nature of this relationship and your treatment of the complainant demonstrates with clarity why the law prohibits an adult from engaging in sexual conduct with a young person. Although this crime is constituted by four identified occasions, the sexual activity was frequent. On each of the identified occasions, you did not wear a condom and you ejaculated in the complainant’s vagina. Some of the sexual conduct on the identified occasions involved aggressive and sometimes degrading physical and sexual acts by you. This includes an act of sexual intercourse which occurred against the wall of a public toilet, another act during which you referred to yourself as an animal, and another when you had sexual intercourse with the complainant from the rear and put your arm around her neck from behind during the sexual act. There were other aspects of the relationship which the complainant has described as controlling, including limiting her access to male friends and limiting her time with her mother. You also persuaded her to “try for a baby” and on one occasion after she had experienced some vaginal bleeding, you told her that she had had a miscarriage. You also frequently engaged in highly sexualised communications with her by way of text message. All of this was complicated by the regular drug use, her poverty and social dislocation and the significant disparity in age between you. The overall picture is of an intense, complex and physically aggressive sexual relationship in which there was a clear imbalance of power in your favour. The complainant was simply too young to be able to make considered and safe decisions about engaging in sexual activity with you, and to cope with the complexities surrounding the relationship. She did not have the maturity or experience to be able to protect herself and this made her extremely vulnerable. It is clear to me that you took advantage of this vulnerability for your own sexual gratification. The objective seriousness of your conduct and your moral culpability for it is very high.
The complainant has not provided a victim impact statement. However, having regard to what I have already discussed, the potential for immediate and long term harm is significant. I note in particular that when these crimes were committed, she was at an age critical to her longer term emotional and psychological development.
You are now 30 years of age. It seems that your childhood was somewhat chaotic. You suffered sexual abuse at the hands of your stepfather and as a response to this commenced the use illicit drugs. You continued heavy drug use until reaching the age of 18. At that point, you were able to cease drug use, obtain employment and commence a long-term relationship.
Your criminal history seems largely consistent with your broader background. It is clear that you were dealt with by the courts in New South Wales for a variety of offences on a number of occasions when you were under 18, but the only convictions after that age are for driving offences. You have no prior criminal history in Tasmania, but you have been convicted of a number of offences since you committed this crime. These include driving matters and breach of bail. Some of the driving matters involved driving with illicit drugs in your blood. You have now been convicted of a number of family violence offences relating to contact with your former partner from prison. These convictions are in breach of a suspended sentence imposed in May 2024 and it is likely that you will be required to serve some time in prison for this.
The objective seriousness of the crimes and your moral culpability for them makes it clear in my view that the primary sentencing considerations are general deterrence and denunciation. There is little that can be said on your behalf in mitigation. Your plea of guilty could not be described as early although it has avoided the need for the complainant to give evidence. You will receive some credit for this.
In my view, the only appropriate sentence is a significant term of imprisonment. I do not intend to suspend any of the sentence as requested by your counsel, but I will provide for the possibility of parole. This will provide the Parole Board with the opportunity to respond to any clear commitment to reform demonstrated by you while you are in prison. Further, I will backdate the sentence to reflect the time that you have already spent in custody.
The orders I make are as follows:
- You are convicted of the crimes to which you have pleaded guilty;
- I impose a global sentence across all of the crimes. You are sentenced to imprisonment for a term of four years and six months, which will be backdated to 13 June 2024. Were it not for your plea of guilty, I would have imposed a sentence of five years imprisonment. You are not eligible for parole until you have served one half of that sentence.
- I am required to make an order under the Community Protection (Offender Reporting) Act 2005, unless I am satisfied that you do not pose a risk of committing a reportable offence in the future. Having regard to the circumstances of this case, I am not satisfied of that matter and, accordingly, must make an order. I order that your name be placed on the register pursuant to that Act and that you comply with the reporting obligations under that Act for a period of eight years, which will commence on the date of your actual release from prison.