An investigation into rape culture and sexual abuse in the early 2000s Byron Bay hardcore and metalcore scenes conducted by ABC has shined a light on a disturbing trend that was apparently pervasive throughout those scenes. This report was seemingly spurred by the recent sentencing of Jed Gordon, a former employee of Parkway Drive, and brother to the band’s drummer Ben Gordon. Jed recently entered a guilty plea to sexual intercourse with a minor for incidents said to have occurred around 2002 and 2003. The victim in question was said to be 15 at the time, while Jed would have been around 22 years of age.
Per this new ABC investigation, Jed‘s accuser has publicly come forward, waiving her rights to anonymity to speak out against Jed. The investigation notes that other women who were minors at the time have also come forward with similar allegations against Jed around the same early 2000s timeframe. One accuser, Siobhan Daysh, claimed that he was nicknamed ‘Ped Gordon’, and stated that, “His preferences for very young girls were pretty well known.”
The aforementioned report also has a picture of a business card Jed allegedly had made up in the early 2000s that identified him as ‘tour manager / merch dude’ for Parkway Drive and listed contact info for him. The card stated in part, “Hi, My Name Is Jed. We should hang out later, your cute!”
Jed‘s lawyer was pressed by ABC for comment about these additional allegations surfacing against his client, telling ABC, “they’re rubbing as far as I’m concerned.” ABC report that the NSW Police are understood to be investigating the claims.
Past problematic musical output by Parkway Drive bassist Jia ‘O’Connor was also cited in this report. ABC state they obtained rap songs O’Connor recorded prior to joining the band in 2006. The lyrics for those songs were said to be highly misogynistic, commenting on teen girls and glorifying rape culture. According to ABC, one of those tracks, makes the reference to a 24-year-old “breaking the hymen” of 12-year-olds.
O’Connor provided an apology to ABC about those tracks, stating that they were written by “insecure teenagers” and aimed to emulate, “the hateful lyrics of Eminem and NWA without realising the consequences.” O’Connor further told the publication, “In fact, many songs were never meant to be published, but some of the worst songs were leaked and ended up hurting people. While it was a toxic culture for boys, it was so much worse for girls, and I am deeply sorry for contributing to that.”
Parkway Drive distanced themselves from Jed in light of learning of his behavior, firing him from their merch business. The band also claimed they found out about his criminal behavior from screenshots of court dates related to his aforementioned sentencing.
Public statements issued by the band and their members would go on to condemn Jed‘s behavior and apologize to their fans for employing him. They also pledged their support for his accuser at the time.
