SENTENCING STATEMENTS
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Read more about victims of crime and sentencing.
HMA v Jason Blair
Jan 13, 2023
On sentencing Judge Craig made the following statement in court:
"You were found guilty by a jury after trial of two charges of rape of two separate women.
In the trial, on your own evidence, you accepted that you were coercive and controlling of both of the victims and that you used techniques such as self-harm and tracking in order to exert your control over them. While in the CJSW report you acknowledge that behaviour you continue to deny that you sexually assaulted these victims by raping them.
Their evidence was compelling, and they each spoke of your raping them, one of the victims more than once, by overcoming their will and then showing no care, regard or regret towards them once the attacks came to an end. The second of the victims was able to make a recording of you discussing the attack with her in which you effectively admitted your behaviour but, largely, blamed her for your actions through name-calling and attempts to belittle her.
The first of your victims was only a teenager, and a young mother, when you raped her, but not before you had coercively controlled her such that she had little or no independence or agency left because of your behaviour towards her.
Both victims gave similar accounts of the ways in which you attempted to control them, and described similar behaviours on your part. While the jury found the charges in relation to a third complainer not proven I now have your schedule of previous convictions which discloses a number of domestically aggravated convictions in relation to that complainer.
This all taken together demonstrates that you have, as it was put in the social work report, a long and regrettable history of behaving in a verbally, emotionally and physically abusive and controlling manner towards partners, including coercive and controlling behaviours towards the victims of these offences.
You take no responsibility for your behaviour and demonstrate no insight into your underlying motivations. You show no evidence of recognition of the seriousness of the harm caused to your victims.
You have been assessed as posing a significant risk of causing imminent, serious harm including verbal, emotional, physical, psychological and sexual abuse, to female partners and ex-partners, with what was described as an “elevated” risk of further domestically aggravated offending.
I have read the victim impact statement given by one of your victims who describes your offending as having a profound emotional and psychological impact on her.
You are now 25 years of age with a number of convictions for domestic assault and stalking and were on bail at the time you raped the second of your victims.
Because of the gravity of the crimes which you have committed a custodial sentence is the only appropriate disposal in your case.
Given the terms of the report, which highlights your overall rejection of responsibility for involvement in sexually harmful behaviour, your lack of insight and empathy, and the assessed risk of serious harm you potentially present to former and future partners, I intend to follow the recommendation of imposing a sentence to include a lengthy period of post-custody supervision.
I am satisfied that the normal period of licence to which you would be subject following your release from a custodial sentence would not be adequate to protect the public from the risk of serious harm that you present
In relation to charges 2 and 10, I impose a cumulo extended sentence of 11 years and 6 months comprising a custodial term of 8 years and six months of which 6 months relates to the domestic aggravation and 6 months to the bail aggravation in charge 10, and an extension period of 3 years, backdated to 2 December 2022 when you were first remanded in custody.
You will remain subject to the notification requirements applicable to sex offenders for an indefinite period, and your name will be added to the lists of persons deemed unsuitable to work with vulnerable groups."
13 January 2023