Australian metalcore group Parkway Drive found themselves engulfed in scandal this past March after word came out about a charge their ex-staff member Jed Gordon was facing. The latter, who is also the brother of the band’s drummer Ben Gordon, was at one point referred to as the ‘sixth member’ of the group. He was employed by Parkway Drive for a number of years, primarily overseeing the sale of merch for them.
Earlier this spring, news of Jed‘s guilty plea to having sexual intercourse with a person 14 or over and under 16 years made headlines. The now 45-year-old Jed would have been around 22 years of age at the time of the incidents, with court documents indicating the victim was 15 at the time. The charge is said to relate to several incidents that occurred between November 01st, 2002 and July 11th, 2003.
The past March, in the wake of his guilty plea, the band themselves condemned Jed for his actions and distanced themselves from him, revealing that Jed hadn’t toured with them since 2017. While Jed had been employed by the band afterwards as part of their Australian online merch sales, the group revealed his contract had been terminated immediately upon finding out about the illegal incidents.
After the band faced backlash for their initial statement regarding Jed, Parkway Drive vocalist Winston McCall would later go on to issue this video statement, showing support for the victim of Jed‘s crimes and publicly condemning Jed for his behavior. McCall would also go on to claim that the band were unaware of the extent of Jed‘s behavior in advance of the legalities.
ABC now report that Jed escaped jail time in his recent sentencing. Instead he was handed a three-year community corrections order, issued a two-year apprehended domestic violence order, ordered to serve 300 hours of community service, and has been placed on the child protection register.
ABC further report that the court heard that Gordon initiated sexual intercourse with the victim on a number of occasions, reaching out to her via text message each time. It was also shared in the legal proceedings that an April 2003 incident involving a broken condom saw Jed take the victim to the hospital to get a morning-after pill.
A victim impact statement issued by the victim to the court read:
“The sexual and emotional abuse that he subjected me to has hindered my ability to navigate romantic, platonic, family and professional relationships.
Because of this I have experienced re-victimisation in emotionally abusive relationships, domestic violence or sexual harassment, assault and rape multiple times. I have been unable to care and provide for my children in the capacity that they deserve, as well as being unable to care for myself.”
Jed was said to have admitted the crime in what was described as a lawfully recorded phone call that transpired in June of 2025 between himself and the victim.
In what likely played a factor in his lenient sentence, Judge Geoffrey Dunlevy, who presided over the sentencing, said that Gordon had demonstrated “significant insight” for remorse.
