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\n\tAustralian hardcore band Parkway Drive<\/a> have condemned the actions of a former merchandise manager after he pleaded guilty to a historical child sex offence in a New South Wales court last week.<\/p>\n \n\tJed Daniel Gordon, 44, appeared in Byron Bay Local Court and pleaded guilty to having sexual intercourse with a 15-year-old girl \u2014 an offence that occurred between November 2002 and July 2003, when Gordon was in his early 20s. <\/p>\n \n\tGordon, who is the brother of Parkway Drive drummer Ben Gordon as per ABC<\/a><\/em>, sat alone in the courtroom on both occasions his matter was mentioned, on March 9 and March 16. He is due to be sentenced on May 19, when the court is expected to hear a victim impact statement from the victim.<\/p>\n \n\tParkway Drive later addressed the matter in a social media statement on Sunday (March 22). \u201cThis is appalling and we condemn it,\u201d they wrote. \u201cWe\u2019re gutted and we support the victim.\u201d<\/p>\n \n\tParkway Drive acknowledged that while the offence predates the band\u2019s own formation, they bore responsibility for employing Gordon in the years that followed. <\/p>\n \n\t\u201cThis happened before we were a band, however we bear moral responsibility for contracting him from 2003, on and off over the years,\u201d the statement read. <\/p>\n \n\t\u201cWhile he hasn\u2019t toured with us since 2017, more recently he\u2019s been part of our Australian online merch team. When the band heard about this, we terminated his contract immediately. He\u2019s no longer involved with Parkway Drive in any capacity. This is heartbreaking on a very human scale.\u201d<\/p>\n \n\tThe news arrives at an already difficult time for the band. Parkway Drive were among the headliners booked for Bluesfest 2026<\/a> \u2014 a rare hometown appearance for the Byron Bay outfit \u2014 before the festival collapsed into liquidation on March 13. <\/p>\n \n\tThe cancellation was the latest blow for the band, who had also been forced to shut down their own festival, Park Waves<\/a>, late last year. \u201cAnother festival being crushed by the rising costs across our entertainment industry,\u201d the band said at the time of the Bluesfest collapse. \u201cIt hurts to be another casualty in this chapter of the Australian music scene.\u201d<\/p>\n \n\tParkway Drive formed in Byron Bay in 2003 \u2014 their name taken from the street where they first rehearsed, at the Gordon family home in Ewingsdale. Over two decades, the band have grown into one of Australia\u2019s most prominent heavy music exports, headlining major international festivals and selling out arenas worldwide. <\/p>\n \n\tThey have released seven studio albums on Epitaph Records, with their last three \u2014 Ire<\/em> (2015), Reverence<\/em> (2018), and Darker Still<\/em> (2022) \u2014 each debuting at No. 1 on the ARIA Albums Chart. Darker Still<\/em> also won the 2023 ARIA Award for Best Hard Rock\/Heavy Metal Album.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n