CONTENT WARNING: This article discusses violence against women.
Disgraced Home and Away star Orpheus Pledger has pleaded guilty to assaulting an unnamed woman outside a Melbourne residence in March this year.
The former actor pleaded guilty to charges including unlawful assault and causing injury.
He hasn’t been sentenced yet, with Magistrate Justin Foster postponing sentencing until July 3, so Pledger can be assessed for a “community corrections order”.
Pledger’s lawyer, Jasper MacCuspie, fought for a community corrections order, saying he had a “relatively limited amount” of “irrelevant” priors.
Orpheus Pledger is most well known for his role as Mason Morgan on Home and Away. (Image: Seven)
According to MacCuspie, Pledger plans to “get himself straightened out” upon release, by living in regional Victoria with his father and learning music.
The court was told today that Pledger’s downward spiral came when he narrowly missed out on making it big in Hollywood, ruining his mental health and he turned to drugs.
The actor was in the “late stages of negotiations” to secure a role in US drama The 100 after finishing up on Home and Away, but a “last-minute” decision to go in another direction caused “quite a destabilising event for [Pledger]”.
Pledger’s lawyer also claimed the actor’s “mental health has deteriorated while in custody” but noted the star has “never had a formal diagnosis”.
MacCuspie confirmed that Pledger got hooked on meth in his mid-late 20s, but maintained his client has never become fully dependent on the drug. His legal counsel argued that Pledger’s use of the drug worsened after his rejection from The 100.
Due to this, Pledger’s lawyer said the punishment of 94 days of pre-sentence detention was “sufficient if not almost there”, putting forward the case of a community corrections order.
While prosecutors argued it was a “serious incident”, they agreed that a community protection order would suffice.
Magistrate Foster told the court he would need time before making a decision on the community corrections order.
“At the moment the court doesn’t know if it’s a mental health or drug issue,” Magistrate Foster said.
Orpheus Pledger also appeared on Seven’s SAS. (Image: Seven)
CCTV Footage of Home and Away’s Orpheus Pledger horrifies
The court released CCTV footage of the violent incident between Pledger and the unidentified woman earlier this year.
In the footage, Pledger is seen grabbing the woman and dragging her along the ground. He then pushes her to the ground before stamping on her head.
The victim is said to have been left with “severe injuries”, including cuts on her cheek, hematomas on her forehead, along with bruises on her cheek, hand and neck.
Police arrived at the scene at 1.35am after receiving a 000 call from the victim. The court heard that the victim said the words “he’s coming” during the phone call before hanging up.
The shamed actor has been held in pre-sentenced custody since his March 25th arrest.
Feature image: Seven
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