Former Home and Away star Orpheus Pledger has been sentenced to 7 months prison for assault, but his lawyers are set to make a fresh bail application this afternoon.
Pledger’s victim, who cannot be identified for legal reasons, suffered cuts and bruises to her head, and injuries to her neck and hand from a drug-fuelled attack on March 25 this year.
Pledger pleaded guilty in Melbourne Magistrates’ Court to recklessly causing injury and unlawful assault.
During one attack, the victim called for help, and police found her lying on the ground with bruises on her head and hand, lacerations on her face and signs of being choked.
Best known for his role as Mason Morgan in Home and Away, the 31-year-old argued he had turned to drugs after his life spiralled out of control when he was dropped from a US television series.
But on Friday, this claim was rejected by magistrate Justin Foster, who said Pledger lacked remorse for his conduct and started using drugs six years ago, well before being dropped from the cast of The 100.
Pledger’s lawyer said the victim had written a character reference in support of the actor, and that he had been making good progress in recent months to address drug and mental health problems.
However Magistrate Justin Foster said, “Society is fed up with violence against women in particular,” he said.
“Your actions are worthy of strong condemnation.”
Magistrate Foster said Pledger had “minimised his actions and blamed the victim”.
Earlier this year, Pledger spent several days on the run from police when he breached bail by leaving hospital before a mental health assessment, and later failed to turn up to court.
Pledger was re-arrested, held in prison for three months and eventually freed again, after pleading guilty to recklessly causing injury and assault over the attacks on the woman.
The magistrate said he was “comfortably satisfied” Pledger’s mental health condition deteriorated solely because of his drug use, rather than any underlying psychological issue.
The magistrate noted there had been “intense media interest” in the current case, but said Pledger had also attracted positive headlines and given interviews after he saved a woman from being assaulted in 2018.
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