Broken Hill man wins appeal of sentence for animal cruelty offences

A 21-year-old man who was jailed for animal cruelty which he filmed and uploaded to social media has been released into the community after serving two-and-a-half months.

Jet Jai Johnson was sentenced to 14 months’ imprisonment on July 30 with a non-parole period of six months after pleading guilty to five separate acts of animal cruelty.

The Broken Hill man and station hand filmed himself committing the offences against native animals as well as livestock, including a kangaroo, a joey and three kid goats, and the videos were shared widely on social media.

On Friday, Johnson had his appeal against his sentence upheld in the Broken Hill District Court, meaning he could be released from prison after serving less than three months of his 14-month sentence.

Judge Clive Jeffreys also reduced the remainder of his sentence to nine months, which will be served in the community.

One video Jet Johnson uploaded showed him doing a run-up kick on a young kid. (Supplied: Facebook)

Defence barrister Rebecca Mitchell told the court it was a “stern sentence” and supplied a psychological report that said Johnson likely suffered from ADHD. 

“Two-and-a-half months in custody has been a significant wake up,” Ms Mitchell said. 

“He has very good prospects of rehabilitation and he is unlikely to offend and he has expressed a lot of remorse.”

Ms Mitchell supplied character references from Johnson’s employer at the time, who said his actions were out of character and that he loved animals.

The court heard a former employer of Johnson’s had offered the 21-year-old a job which he could start immediately.

The position would be “away from animals”.

‘Wake-up call’ after 21st spent behind bars

In making his decision, Judge Jeffreys took into account Johnson’s age of 20 when he uploaded the videos of his offending to social media, noting that males did not intellectually mature until their early 20s.

The judge also noted it was not clear when Johnson committed the offences. 

“It’s been a wake-up call. He had to celebrate his 21st birthday in custody,” Judge Jeffreys said.

“As a result of these offences and the great deal of publicity, the appellant lost his employment and will not be able to return to that sort of work – animal husbandry.

Jet Jai Johnson’s family and friends gathered outside Broken Hill District Court. (ABC Broken Hill: Aimee Volkofsky)

“According to the material before me, he was engaged … in assisting animal husbandry, which included from time to time being involved in and euthanasing various animals. 

“He became desensitised. That is not an excuse, but needs to be taken into account.”

As part of Johnson’s intensive correctional order, he must not commit any offence and must continue to see his psychologist. 

Johnson’s friends and family who were in attendance hugged each other as news of his release from jail was announced.