Married at First Sight Australia 2021‘s Chris Jensen has avoided jail time after admitting that he’d trafficked drugs as part of a large-scale drug network in Queensland.
On August 19, Judge Paul Freeburn handed the 34-year-old a four-year prison sentence. However, he decided that the case included “exceptional circumstances” and used his discretion to award the TV groom a suspended sentence.
Chris‘ Peregian Springs home was the subject of a police raid in October 2017 — before his MAFS stint — following an eight-month investigation focused on drug distribution along the Sunshine Coast.
Crown prosecutor Michael Andronicus told the court that law enforcement uncovered a network of 30 to 40 people distributing MDMA, cocaine and cannabis.
Police also taped several phone calls involving Chris, referred to as “Dreads”, in drug-related conversations.
In one correspondence, Chris referred to a cocaine deal in August 2017, in which he told an associate: “It will be snowing tomorrow”.
The father of two trafficked cannabis for four months alongside an associate from June 2017.
The duo bought 22 kilograms from another man in the syndicate, paying over $103,000. The cannabis was then onsold.
Married at First Sight‘s Chris Jensen Contributed to Over $4M In Drug Sales In FOUR Months
When they raided Chris’ property, the crown prosecutor said detectives found a bag with 197 grams of cannabis, $5800 in cash, three mobile phones, a glass pipe and scales.
The former MAFS participant was arrested, declined a police interview and was granted immediate bail.
Since then, he has remained free under strict bail conditions.
During those four months in 2017, the Sunshine Coast drug network yielded over $4 million in sales.
This can be attributed to the distribution of 830 kilograms of cannabis, 1.8 kilograms of cocaine, 2.9 kilograms of MDMA and over 15,000 pills.
Why Was Chris Jensen’s Case Considered to Have “Exceptional Circumstances”?
Chris’ representative, Barrister Alastair McDougall, told the court that his client had undergone charity work while on bail.
This included photoshoots to raise money for bowel cancer, disadvantaged children, Hodgkin’s disease and men’s mental health.
Barrister McDougall also expressed that Chris had lost his FIFO mining job due to media coverage of the case. He has since been working as a subcontractor plumber.
Judge Freeburn recognised that Chris was arrested nearly five years ago and has been bound by strict bail terms.
“Just why it took these charges so long to come to court is a mystery,” he said. “But the delay has enabled the court to see you have not reoffended; on the contrary, you have complied with all bail conditions while you have had these charges hanging over your head.”
The judge said the law requires convicted drug trafficking charges to serve time behind bars — unless the case is subject to “exceptional circumstances”.
“In my view, these are exceptional circumstances,” he said.
Chris entered Married at First Sight as an intruder in 2021. During his short stint on the show, he was married to Jaimie Gardner.
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