Former NRL star James Roberts pleads guilty to AVO breach
A former NRL star is out of work, on Centrelink and experiencing severe depression since he was charged with a domestic violence offence against his former partner, a court has heard.
Police & Courts
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A former NRL superstar has been unemployed, on Centrelink and “gravely depressed” since his dramatic arrest on a domestic violence charge, a court has heard.
Once lauded for his remarkable speed, former NSW Blues player James Roberts has been out of work for six months since he was arrested and charged with breaching an apprehended violence order in dramatic scenes that went viral on social media.
In the video, the 31-year-old man once known as “Jimmy the Jet” could be seen to punch a police vehicle and yell out “see what youse do to me?”.
At Downing Centre Local Court on Tuesday, Roberts pleaded guilty to contravening an AVO after calling his former partner 33 times in six weeks outside the prescribed hours he was permitted to have phone contact with her.
A second charge of intimidation was then withdrawn by police.
Roberts’ solicitor Mr Jeffrey told Magistrate Scott Nash his career’s end had coincided with his relationship breakdown.
He had played 168 games throughout his 11-year career for the Wests Tigers, South Sydney Rabbitohs, Gold Coast Titans, the Brisbane Broncos and Penrith Panthers.
“He hasn’t been working for the last six months, he has no income except Centrelink and has been suffering a grave depression,” Mr Jeffrey told the court.
“He has had no contact with the victim in the matter since he was arrested – he frankly admits the breach.”
The court heard Roberts was permitted to contact his former partner at prescribed times for agreed reasons, but the number of calls outside the set times constituted the breach.
Police prosecutor Sgt Walsh opposed a sentence without a conviction, highlighting the sheer number of calls.
“It wasn’t a one-off phone call, it was 33 phone calls over one-and-a-half months,” Sgt Walsh said.
“There are other ways of dealing to facilitate (contact) rather than pestering and harassing the complainant.”
Mr Nash acknowledged Roberts had no similar matters on his record and sentenced him to a 15-month supervised conditional release order without conviction.
“It’s pleasing to hear there have been no subsequent breaches since last year,” Mr Nash said.
“I note the reason why you were breaching the order, but it’s an explanation, not an excuse – the order is the order and you need to respect it.”
Mr Nash also stressed the offence was not “trivial”.
“He has taken responsibility and there’s been no subsequent offences, so I’ll treat this as an aberration,” Mr Nash said.
“He can demonstrate this is out of character and it won’t happen again for the next 15 months.”
Community Corrections will assess whether Roberts requires any supervision during the order and he will also be required to comply with an AVO for his ex-partner’s protection for two years.
The Kempsey-born man played his junior football with the Ballina Seagulls, and also played at representative level for the Indigenous All-Stars and the 2018 NSW Origin squad.
He retired from first-grade football in 2022 but in 2023 played for the Hills Bulls in the NSWRL.
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