Child abuse survivor reveals shocking reason his stepmother stopped attacking him – after he fathered her child when he was 15

A child sex abuse survivor has revealed the shocking reason why his stepmother stopped attacking him after he fathered her child when he was 15.

Award-winning activist Harrison James became a teenage father when his stepmother, who was in her mid-20s and had sexually abused him, became pregnant with his child.

The teenager had met his stepmother two years earlier, after having contact with his father for the first time since his parents’ divorce.

Although he was barely thirteen, his father’s new wife, a 24-year-old Filipino woman, began insidiously breaking down the physical barriers between them until things turned sexual.

Speaking on It’s A Lot with Abbie Chatfield, Harrison described the traumatic abuse he endured at the hands of his stepmother, who abused him “every day before and after school” for almost three years.

As he took the bus home from school one afternoon, 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 finally stopping when he turned 16.

‘The last sexual act took place on my 16th birthday. That was the last time I was sexually assaulted,” he said.

Abbie Chatfield became emotional during a conversation with Harrison James, a survivor of child sexual abuse who became a father at age 15 when his stepmother, who had sexually abused him, became pregnant with his child

He explained that it only ended because there was a “second perpetrator.”

“We went on a trip to the Philippines to introduce the baby to my stepmother’s parents and sisters,” he continued.

‘There was a second perpetrator who took me on a night out and raped me. And then my stepmother used that to say, ‘You cheated on me.'”

As Harrison faced the abuse, he pushed everyone else away because he feared they would find out what was going on.

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 (Photo: 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 program.

The pair have successfully lobbied the NSW government to amend section 21A(5A) of the Sentencing Procedure Act 1999 (NSW) so that character references can no longer be used in sentencing convicted child predators.

His Filipino stepmother groomed the 13-year-old until it became sexual and she fathered his daughter (Photo: Harrison at 15 with his newborn daughter)

A petition was submitted by Greens MP Abigail Boyd, who then suggested the Attorney General legislate.

Discussions are now taking place with lawmakers to determine how far they will change the law, which Harrison hopes will completely remove any reference to the perpetrator’s good character.

‘I was abused by my stepmother from the age of 13 to 16, and if that case ever went to trial, which it won’t since she fled the country, but if it does, she would be well in. [her] right to use good character reference,” Harrison said.

‘I see that as a gross injustice of the system.’

The campaign has since expanded across Western Australia, South Australia, ACT and Tasmania.

Harrison said they are treating the NSW campaign as a pilot before moving to other states to uniformly eliminate defenses in every Australian state and territory.

“Each jurisdiction has very specific language and we want to make sure we look at it state by state to cover all the bases,” he said.

‘We want to ensure that there are no legal implications to the changes and that survivors are put in the best position they can be in.

‘Ultimately I think a majority of people think a pedophile cannot have good character.’

The #YourReferenceAintRelevant campaign, backed by Greens MP Abigail Boyd (centre), has now successfully lobbied the NSW government to remove any ‘good character’ defense that pedophiles could previously use in the state. (Left: Jarad Grice, and right: Harrison James)