Jesse Lee James caused horrific injuries to a two-year-old girl. Photo / Facebook
Jesse Lee James caused horrific injuries to a two-year-old girl. Photo / Facebook
A man who was jailed for breaking a toddler's back and pelvis and rupturing her bowel in a violent assault could soon be released from jail, leaving thousands of Queenslanders furious and a former partner terrified.
Jesse Lee James, 29, from Maryborough on Queensland's Fraser Coast, was sentenced to sixyears in jail last week after he pleaded guilty to the brutal attack on the two-year-old girl.
The Fraser Coast Chronicle reported James put the toddler in hospital for two weeks in 2017 after she was left with sickening injuries including fractures to her pelvis and vertebrae and a swollen stomach.
The toddler only survived the abuse after Child Health and Safety caseworkers visited the home and noticed her injuries, news.com.au reported.
In sentencing James last week, Judge Tony Moynihan said the 29-year-old had a "callous disregard" for the welfare of the toddler, the Fraser Coast Chronicle reported.
Judge Moynihan described the toddler as a "brave little girl who is making good progress" and said it was miraculous she hadn't been left with permanent injuries.
Despite that, James's attack — and a previous conviction for assaulting a three-year-old child — led the judge to sentence him to six years in prison.
But James, who had already spent two years in prison awaiting his court date and pleaded guilty to the charges, was given immediate parole eligibility.
The potential for James to be released has also not sat well with the state's Opposition, who lashed his immediate parole eligibility today.
James pleaded guilty to causing the injuries. Photo / Facebook
Speaking to news.com.au, Shadow Attorney-General David Janetzki called James a "despicable grub".
"Just two years' jail for this monster is totally inadequate," Mr Janetzki said.
"James used sickening force against his poor victim and the full force of the law should have been used against him.
"This despicable grub broke the spine and pelvis of a tiny girl and he doesn't deserve a shred of sympathy.
"This man had a previous conviction for bashing a three-year-old and is clearly a grave threat to children.
"I'm calling on the Palaszczuk Labor Government to immediately appeal this sentence."
News.com.au understands a woman, who was previously in a relationship with James, is "terrified" and has already approached local government members and police officers asking for protection after hearing he could be out of jail soon.
Another woman, who wished to remain anonymous but lives in the Fraser Coast community and knows James, said she was shocked about his potentially brief jail term.
"It is just so alarming that a person like this, who is such a danger to children, is allowed back into the community so soon," she said.
The news the 29-year-old could be out soon also enraged thousands of Queenslanders.
A change.org petition has garnered plenty of support over the past four days, with more than 4000 signing the "Justice for Maryborough toddler" page.
The petition, which describes the sentence as "grossly inadequate and not in line with community expectations", calls on the Director of Public Prosecutions to immediately review the parole eligibility.
People who signed the petition lashed the decision as "pathetic" while others said it was "so wrong" and there was "little justice in our legal system".
"I'm signing because we need to start protecting our children," one woman wrote.
"They are innocent and do not deserve this abhorrent treatment."
In a brief statement, a spokesman for Queensland's Attorney-General Yvette D'Ath said, "the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions reviewed all sentences once matters were finalised and had up to a month to determine whether any appeal of a matter had a reasonable chance of succeeding, and advise the Attorney-General accordingly".
