The son of footy legend Wendell Sailor has narrowly averted jail for tormenting his girlfriend and defrauding her of $40,000 after he grew to become hooked on alcohol, medicine, and playing.
Jackson Anthony Watson appeared in Sutherland Local Court on Wednesday after pleading responsible to intimidation and making a false doc to acquire monetary benefit.
The courtroom heard the costs relate to a two-month relationship between the 24-year-old and a lady he met on a relationship app.
During their brief relationship, the courtroom paperwork reveal he bullied his girlfriend into handing over $40,000 underneath false pretences.
According to the agreed information, Watson advised the lady he wanted cash for work bills, together with for coaching, instruments and uniforms.
He confirmed her textual content messages, allegedly from his boss, which claimed he could be reimbursed for the out-of-pocket bills.
However, when the lady contacted Watson’s boss, the information state she was shocked to study Watson had not been employed with him for a number of months.
Watson, the love little one of former Wallabies and Kangaroos consultant Wendell Sailor, would stand over his girlfriend and demand to see her financial institution stability on her telephone.
The lady advised police she felt threatened and intimidated by Watson, who she claimed has an “extreme temper” and “would get extremely angry very easily”.
According to the agreed information, he would usually tempo across the room with objects in his hand.
“These objects included a sharp knife, scissors, glass plates or any other sharp objects he could find,” the courtroom paperwork state.
The information reveal the lady grew to become scared and feared for her security when Watson threatened to “bash” and “kill” a male pal who despatched her a textual content message.
He additionally threatened her by saying: “I swear by God … If there’s something going on, you’re going to be in trouble; I’m not messing around, you’ll get hurt, I swear to God, don’t f**k with me”.
The courtroom paperwork reveal one other event when the lady started crying and shaking after Watson received near her face and spoke to her in an intimidating method.
When his girlfriend mentioned she was scared, the information state the Kirrawee resident responded, “Good, you should be scared.”
In one other occasion detailed within the courtroom paperwork, he threw his girlfriend’s telephone throughout the residence and broke the display protector after listening to noises exterior his residence.
Magistrate Jillian Kiely famous the intense intimidation offence occurred over a two-month interval.
“He really subjected the victim in the matter to torment in that period,” she mentioned.
“Much of that was attributable to paranoia as a result of a drug relapse and his use of cocaine, but really very little insight has been shown into his impact on her.”
The Justice of the Peace opined the fraud offence had “some level almost of extortion” in Watson’s repeated calls for for cash and insistence on seeing the sufferer’s checking account.
“It was really a course of conduct that would have been very distressing,” she mentioned.
Watson appeared polished in a white shirt and tie paired with black pants as he anxiously awaited his sentence on Wednesday.
The 24-year-old was supported by his mom, grandmother and counsellors from the rehabilitation centre he has been attending.
His lawyer Dennis Vo advised the courtroom Mr Watson had not taken medicine for seven months and had engaged a psychologist “who believes heavily that Mr Watson is on the way to rehabilitation”.
“It was an ongoing intimidation, however, your honour would accept that drugs may have been a factor in the reasons of delusions or paranoia he experienced at this time,” he mentioned.
Mr Vo mentioned the “rising international and state rugby player” has additionally engaged with remedy for his psychological well being, and alcohol and playing addictions.
“It’s not a situation where he will reoffend again. The underlying issues are being addressed,” he advised the courtroom.
Magistrate Kiely agreed the previous rising rugby league expertise had made “promising” steps in direction of addressing his alcohol, drug and playing addictions.
“He’s now on a better trajectory in terms of his mental health … and his ongoing treatment of his addictive personality traits,” she mentioned.
Despite a scarcity of perception into the impression of his offending on the sufferer, the Justice of the Peace acknowledged Mr Watson had repaid $675 of the “significant” stability owed to the sufferer.
She sentenced the Kirrawee resident to an 18-month group corrections order for the fraud offence and a year-long intensive corrections order for the intimidation cost.
He can even have to finish 75 hours of group service.
It was the ultimate chapter in a dismal downfall for Watson, who was as soon as a proficient rugby league participant who represented the Australian Indigenous facet throughout his teenagers.
He was thought of one of many nation’s most promising skills when he performed within the Cronulla Sharks’ under-16 facet alongside some now-household NRL names.
The courtroom heard he’s now pursuing a certificates in plumbing, which he is because of end this yr.
Source web site: www.foxsports.com.au
