Daughter of ex-Hollywood actor released early from jail has ‘no sympathy’ for dad

A former Hollywood actor who became the unlikely face of the government’s early prison release scheme ‘should have known better’ than to waste his chance, his daughter has said.  

Clarice Hoganson, 21, told Metro that she has ‘no sympathy’ for Jason Hoganson, who has spent much of his adult life in jail and is currently facing another spell behind bars.

Clarice, from Gateshead, Tyne and Wear, said that she still loves her 53-year-old dad but would only welcome him back into her life if he manages to change his ways. 

The heavily tattooed offender’s latest appearance before the courts saw him found guilty of assaulting his ex-partner and two counts of breaching a restraining order. 

He had gone into Rachel Usher’s flat in Newcastle’s West End and slapped her just a day after he was freed in the government’s bid to ease overcrowding in jails.  

‘It has been very upsetting to see my dad all over the news, it’s not been nice,’ Clarice said.

‘Because of the ongoing domestic violence against his ex-partner he should have been kept in prison.

‘They gave him a chance by letting him out but he breached his bail conditions and went back to prison.  

‘He’s an adult, he’s got capacity, and he should have known better.’ 

Clarice is one of four children by her dad, who she has only had limited contact with throughout her life.

Family pictures taken when she was a baby show him playing the fatherly role as he pushed her in a pram through a park and planting a kiss on her while she sat on his lap in a pub.  

Hoganson’s life before his descent into crime also included a promising acting career and a leading role in 1987 film Empire State.

He played a Geordie drifter called Pete in the gritty drama, which also cast Irish actor Ray McAnally, Jamie Foreman and US star Martin Landau.

But Hoganson would fall into the clutches of drugs and crime and has become ‘almost institutionalised’ in the prison system, Clarice said.  

He found fame for the wrong reasons in September after he was pictured giving a thumbs-up as he was accidentally released from HMP Durham.  

The repeat offender had been convicted of assault by beating and breach of a restraining order at court the previous month and given an 18-month sentence, much of which he had already served on remand.

He was one of 37 inmates who were let out prematurely despite not being eligible for early release under the scheme to tackle jail overcrowding.

He was arrested following a police appeal after the assault on Ms Usher, who died of undisclosed reasons a day after he was returned to custody.  

There is no evidence to suggest the attack was linked to her death.  

But despite her dad’s appalling track record, Clarice, a support worker, told Metro she would still have a closer relationship with him if he managed to change his ways. 

‘I’ve got no sympathy for him, I love him, but I wish he would change,’ she said. ‘He’s 53 now and that’s very unlikely.

‘His life spiralled out of control when he took a lot of drugs and he chose that life, unfortunately. My mum’s death in 2019 also had a big impact on him, I don’t think he was imprisoned around that time.  

‘Since then he’s just been in and out of prison, he’s become almost institutionalised. 

‘I’m almost 22 and the life that I want doesn’t revolve around that and I want to distance myself from that sort of person.

‘As I said, I still love him and I would be there to support him if anything happened to him. I feel like more of a parent than he is.  

‘Everyone around him has a lot of time for him and wants him to change but we’ve all had to accept that that’s never going to happen.’ 

In a statement read out at Newcastle Crown Court on Friday, Ms Usher told how Hoganson was ‘shouting and bawling and seemed really angry’ before hitting her with a ‘powerful’ slap.  

Hoganson, who is due to be sentenced at the end of next month, had to be removed from the hearing after he began shouting obscenities at the prosecutor as he gave evidence. 

Although he was released early from prison in error, it is understood that he would have been freed a few days later anyway under the terms of his original sentence.  

Do you have a story you would like to share? Contact josh.layton@metro.co.uk

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