by 
When Jason Hoganson, an unknown 16-year-old actor, landed his big break with the film Empire State he could be forgiven for thinking Hollywood was the next step.
Dubbed a “Geordie drifter”, the Newcastle native found himself sharing the credits with Hollywood heavyweight Martin Landau and legendary Irish actor Ray McAnally.
Unfortunately, the 1987 film gangsters and geezers was to prove the pride before the fall, because Hoganson would be a convicted felon instead.
Now Hoganson is the unwitting poster boy for the Labor government’s controversial prisoner release scheme, which has created a political storm even before it began.
In July the new Justice Secretary Shabana Mahmood announced that 5,500 prisoners would be released in September and October to tackle prison overcrowding.
Called SDS40, under which criminals will serve 40 per cent of their sentence rather than half, the scheme started earlier this month for those with less than five years in prison and will continue into next month those who have been interfering for five years or more.
Serious offenders and repeat offenders were among the first batch of 1,700 prisoners released since September 10, with Labor blaming previous Tory governments for the chaos.
But the most striking figure to emerge that day was Hoganson, who posed for photographers as he emerged from Durham Prison.
Until later, however, it became clear that the 53-year-old was once again a different kind of poster boy altogether.
The complexion looks clear, ruffled hair, and looks good rough in Empire State a sunken tattooed face and shaved scalp were replaced by a pugnacious glare that foreshadowed a lifetime of trouble.
Hoganson was born in Newcastle in 1970 and raised with his parents, sister and two brothers in Elswick, one of the city’s most deprived areas.
Despite being raised in an ambitious family, Hoganson, unlike his brothers, fell into the wrong crowd from a young age and began a slow downward spiral. anti-social behaviour.
“I was taken into care when I was 13 because of my behavior,” Hoganson said in an interview. “I was just part of the gang in Elswick and I used to follow the crowd, and that’s how I got into trouble.”
A revolving door of hostels and homelessness
But it was acting that gave Hoganson the most likely escape route when producers gave the Empire State approached his drama teacher, looking for local talent.
Hoganson, who has always had a natural affinity for acting at Newcastle’s Redewood school, found himself up against more than 100 teenagers before being offered the part.
At the time, Hoganson said: “I’m very happy with the film. It’s a low budget picture, really down to earth and true to life. I know acting is a difficult profession but I have always wanted to act and write.”
So difficult that the roles have dried up, and his career, like the film, has gone without a trace. Hoganson was drawn back into a life of crime in Newcastle.
When Hoganson admitted charges of assault by beating and breaching a restraining order in August this year, his own defense lawyer Ian Crook said he struggled with the spotlight and “turned on drinking and drugs and that the situation has decreased” .
Hoganson’s life was chaotic and his mental health suffered as a result. He also began to lose touch with his five children, fathered by three different women.
“The children were only young, and I decided it was better for them that I didn’t see them anymore,” he explained.
In 2002 Hoganson entered the revolving door of hostels and homelessness, with an unsolicited record of encroachment and eviction.
Mr Crook told the court in August that Hoganson, who had been diagnosed with mental health problems, was still a mentor to others while in prison on remand.
Struggling with frequent homelessness, in 2012 he said: “I could go back and live with my mum, but she’s alone and has a lovely house. I am like the blackberry.
“My mum did everything for me, she’s a very beautiful woman, but my family has had a lot and I don’t blame them. I can’t keep putting them through this.”
‘Everywhere I go he pushes me away’
At that time, Hoganson admitted that he was sleeping outside at night, and during the day going between cafes in the city center trying to keep warm.
“It’s freezing out there and it won’t get any worse,” he continued, “But everywhere I go I’m just pressured and told they can’t help me.
“All I need is my own little place. That would mean that if any of my children wanted to come and see me later in life, they could. I have lost so much of their lives and no amount of money can bring that back.”
When he was released from Durham Prison, he was serving an 18-month sentence for assaulting his ex-girlfriend.
And despite the fact that he wants to be reunited with his children, it is understood that Hoganson has little contact with them.
One of those children, Charlotte Hoganson, who is now 28, said The Telegraph: “We have nothing to do with it. It has nothing to do with us.”
She said he had “no part” in her childhood and she had “no idea” what he had been up to.
Regarding Keir Starmer’s controversial early release programme, Hoganson raises questions about whether grateful ex-prisoners will choose a clearer path.
North Tyneside Magistrates’ Court heard on September 12 that the former actor allegedly assaulted his ex-girlfriend after turning up at her home a day after his release.
He is also charged with violating his restraining order against the victim. Hoganson was re-arrested and is currently back in jail.
A PSC spokesman confirmed that Hoganson had been charged with assault and twice breached a restraining order and had subsequently been refused bail.
Hoganson is due to stand trial on October 30 at South Tyneside Magistrates’ Court. He admitted one count of breaching the order but pleaded not guilty to the other count and denies assault.
And if Hoganson were to be convicted, once again, it is tempting to ask whether he would be eligible for any additional early release programs that the Government may unveil in the coming months.
