A child sexual abuse survivor has revealed the shocking reason his stepmother stopped assaulting him after he fathered her son when he was 15.
Award-winning activist Harrison James became a teenage father when his stepmother, who was in her twenties and had been sexually abusing him, became pregnant with his son.
The teen had met his stepmother two years earlier, after reconnecting with his father for the first time since his parents’ divorce.
Although she was barely 13, her father’s new wife, a 24-year-old Filipino woman, began insidiously breaking down the physical barriers between them until things became sexual.
Speaking on It’s A Lot with Abbie Chatfield, Harrison detailed the traumatic abuse he suffered at the hands of his stepmother, who abused him “every day before and after school” for almost three years.
One afternoon, as he was taking the bus home from school, she texted him that she was pregnant with his child.
Harrison, now 24, told Abbie that the sexual abuse continued after she gave birth, before it finally stopped once he turned 16.
‘The last sexual act occurred when I turned 16. “That was the last time they sexually abused me,” he said.
Abbie Chatfield became emotional as she spoke to Harrison James, a survivor of childhood sexual abuse who became a father at just 15 years old when his stepmother, who had been sexually abusing him, became pregnant with his son.
He explained that it only came to an end because there was a “second perpetrator.”
“We went on a trip to the Philippines to present the baby to my stepmother’s parents and sisters,” she continued.
‘There was a second perpetrator who took me out one night out and raped me. And then my stepmom used that to say, “you’ve tricked me.”
As Harrison faced the abuse, he pushed everyone else away because he was afraid they would find out what was happening.
After his parents divorced when he was 10, Harrison reconnected with his father at age 13 and met his stepmother, who was 20 years younger than his father (pictured: Harrison at age 13) .
Harrison is now determined to use his traumatic experience as a powerful force for change.
In 2023, he and fellow abuse survivor Jarad Grice launched the #YourReferenceAintRelevant campaign, using New South Wales as a pilot programme.
The couple have successfully lobbied the New South Wales government to amend section 21A (5A) of the Sentencing Procedures Act 1999 (New South Wales) so that character references can no longer be used when sentencing convicted child predators.
His Filipino stepmother groomed the 13-year-old boy until things turned sexual and she fathered his daughter (pictured: Harrison at age 15 with his newborn daughter)
Greens MP Abigail Boyd put forward a petition, which was then proposed for legislation by the Attorney General.
Talks are now underway with lawmakers to determine the extent to which they will change the law, which Harrison hopes will completely remove any reference to the perpetrator’s good character.
“My stepmother sexually abused me between the ages of 13 and 16, and if that case ever went to court, which it won’t since she fled the country, but if it did, she would be within her rights.” use a good character reference,” Harrison said.
“I see it as a serious injustice of the system.”
The campaign has since expanded to Western Australia, South Australia, the ACT and Tasmania.
Harrison said they are treating the New South Wales campaign as a pilot before moving on to other states to uniformly phase out defense across all Australian states and territories.
“Each jurisdiction has very specific language and we want to make sure we take it one state at a time to cover all the bases,” he said.
“We want to ensure that there are no legal ramifications around the changes and that survivors are in the best position possible.
“At the end of the day, I think most people think that a pedophile can’t have good character.”
The #YourReferenceAintRelevant campaign, assisted by Greens MP Abigail Boyd (centre), has successfully lobbied the NSW government to remove any “good character” defense that pedophiles may have previously used in the state. (Left: Jarad Grice and right: Harrison James)