SA sex abuse survivor Alyssa James calls for ban of character references for convicted pedophiles

The last thing Alyssa James expected was for her parents to write a good character reference for the man who abused her. That’s why she’s leading calls for a change to pedophile sentencing laws.

When mum-of-two Alyssa James went to police about the sex abuse she endured as a six-year-old girl, the last thing she expected was to uncover glowing character references about her abuser.

More shockingly still, some of the references were written by her own parents.

“It was the most shocking thing that happened to me out of everything,” she said.

“Six people wrote to the court to say what a wonderful guy he was.”

Sex abuse survivor Alyssa James is the face of a new campaign seeking to ban pedophiles from using character references to mitigate sentencing in the courts. Picture: Brett Hartwig

Ms James, 45, who now lives in Warradale, had just given her victim impact statement after a long, taxing legal process where she talked about how she was repeatedly sexually abused by a male relative and then kept it secret for decades.

“I talked about how I carried the shame for 30 years. How I was always worried it would fracture my family” she said.

“What I wasn't able to say in my victim impact statement was what an awful person he was, how manipulative he was.”

Then she heard her parents had written character references for the abuser, talking about “what a great person he was”.

Sex abuse survivor Alyssa James. Picture: Supplied

Alyssa was sexually abused by a relative when she was a young girl. Picture: Supplied

“Six people (gave references) – his mother-in-law, former teachers, my parents. I burst into tears. I got up and walked out of the whole court building. I was standing on the street with the detective who ran the case, crying,” she said.

Ms James is now the voice of a new campaign aimed at barring convicted child sex abusers from using character references in court, where they are typically used to mitigate the severity of sentencing.

The Your Reference Ain’t Relevant campaign was launched this month by fellow sex abuse survivors Harrison James and Jarad Grice from New South Wales.

Mr James says the act of child sexual abuse alone shows that someone is not of good character.

A leading restaurant owner wrote a character reference for Paul Frost after he sexually abused children over 13 years, describing the swimming coach as a “champion of young people”. Picture: NCA NewsWire/David Swift

“I see this all the time in court” he said.

“There was one case where a swimming coach Paul Frost, after being found guilty of 43 offences over the abuse of children over 13 years, … a popular Sydney restaurant owner wrote a character reference for him that was tendered in court calling him a champion of young people.

“But at the end, to hear these letters that say your perpetrator is a good person, just hearing it, it completely undermines the trauma that we’ve faced.”

Harrison James is a sexual abuse survivor who advocates for fellow survivors. Picture: Riccardo Raiti

“If someone has committed an act of sexual abuse, they are not a person of good character.”

Mr James told how his stepmother sexually abused him from the ages of 13 to 16. The stepmother fell pregnant and he had to pretend his daughter was his little sister.

“I never had justice” he said.

Mr James added that there had been cases where pedophiles had found to be forging their references in court, using old work references written before the offending had come to light.

Lawyer and survivors advocate Andrew Carpenter agrees the problem is compounded by the fact good character references have a low standard of proof and the person writing them is never cross-examined.

Adelaide lawyer Andrew Carpenter says pedophiles should not be allowed to use good character trying to reduce their sentences in court. Picture: Naomi Jellicoe

“I’ve seen a character reference saying 20 years ago they saw someone drowning at a beach and tried to save them,” he said.

“Good character references are required when an offence has been out of character and there has been a brain snap, but something like child sexual abuse where there has been a level of grooming, its not a snap judgement.”

Ms James said she had learned to live without having a relationship with her parents.

“(I have) no desire to contact them. Anyone who thinks it is OK to diminish the impact of what he did in any way shape or form is not my kind of people,” she said.

Ms James said she was still close with her sister and had a tight group of female friends.

“I’m also very risk-averse. I control everything within an inch of my life. I don’t let my kids stay at friends’ houses unless I know the people intimately,” she said.

Attorney-General Kyam Maher told The Advertiser that he supported changes to the law regarding pedophiles using character references in court.

“I recently had the privilege of meeting with Harrison and Jarad who are using their experiences to try to make positive change in the criminal justice system,” he said.

“I have made it clear that I would like to see any changes made are done consistently nationwide. However, if a consensus can’t be reached nationally, South Australia will consider going it alone in making legislative changes.”