Jay Dylan James: Frankston man has sex with young schoolgirl
They were meant to be having an innocent sleepover. But it turned into a nightmare for one of the young girls when she was plied with drugs by a Frankston man who later molested her. He later pleaded for her to tell her mum that he hadn’t forced her.
South East
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A man had sex with a schoolgirl then apologised and pleaded for her to tell her mum that he hadn’t forced her.
Jay Dylan James, 29, has been sentenced to year in jail and a two-year community corrections order in the County Court after pleading guilty to two charges of sexual penetration of a child under 16 years.
The labourer was 26 when he had unprotected sex with a 14-year-old girl having a sleepover at her friend’s house in February 2017.
James was staying with the family of the victim’s friend at the time, having had to leave his share house.
The court heard the girls watched TV in his room with him and he gave the victim marijuana to smoke, before the girl’s mother repeatedly told the 14 year olds to leave James’ bedroom.
The woman told James it wasn’t appropriate for the girls to be in his room.
Both girls were still there about 3am when James put his arm around the victim and his hands down her pants.
Soon after, when the girl who lived in the house had left the room, James pulled down the victim’s pants and had sex with her.
She woke about 7am to find his arm around her, before she said she was leaving to find her friend.
James followed the girl to her friend’s empty bedroom, where she lay down to sleep, and he hugged her and had sex with her again.
Later that morning he told the victim he was sorry and that no one should know about what happened.
But the girl who lived in the house told her mum she’d heard moaning noises coming from her bedroom, and the woman asked her daughter’s friend what had happened.
The victim told the woman about the sex, before James also admitted it, and the woman announced she was calling the police.
James fled the house and over the next few days messaged the victim saying sorry.
He asked her to convince her mum that he hadn’t forced her and asked her to avoid having the matter go to court.
Police didn’t catch up with James until March 2019 and he wasn’t charged until December.
He told police the victim had come onto him and he couldn’t resist.
The court heard the girl he’d had sex with had ADHD and Asperger’s syndrome and had suffered significantly following the incident, missing school for anxiety and self harming.
She told police she had felt awkward and didn’t like James touching her but hadn’t said anything because she didn’t want anyone to get in trouble.
The court heard James had a “tragic” upbringing, including being the victim of violence, and suffered from adjustment disorder with depressed mood and cannabis addiction.
He had no criminal history before the incident and had since moved in with a new partner and her family in Frankston, who supported him.
Judge Wendy Wilmoth said the “spontaneous” offending was in the mid range of seriousness for the crime, and noted he showed some remorse.
James will go on the sex offender register.
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