Big Brother contestant Saxon Pepper sentenced for drugs, weapons charges
More than a decade after he appeared as a contestant on Big Brother, Saxon Pepper now finds himself on home detention of a different kind.
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More than a decade after he appeared as a contestant on reality TV juggernaut Big Brother, Saxon Pepper now finds himself on home detention of a different kind.
Pepper was sentenced in the South Australian District Court on Thursday after he pleaded guilty to drugs, weapons and driving charges, as well as breaching his bail.
The 35-year-old was caught by police with a shotgun hidden in his wardrobe, a baton under his bed and a credit card knife in his drawer.
The court was told that, in 2016, he was kidnapped by bikies and tortured for hours.
“Since 2017, you have been threatened by people over a drug debt and a large, heavily-tattooed man said he would ‘destroy your existence when you least expect it’,” Judge Joana Fuller said in sentencing.
“You told police the fantasy (drug) was ‘Jungle Juice’, a sexual aid.
“That was a lie, you used fantasy because it helped your insomnia.”
Pepper said he had the firearm to protect himself, and told police he would fire into the roof and “one shot is all I need”.
Judge Fuller said Pepper has a “complex mental health history”, and he struggled after he appeared as a contestant on Channel 10’s eighth season of the show in 2008, which was hosted by Kyle Sandilands and Jackie O.
“Your aim on Big Brother was to be a better person, but you felt rejected after you were evicted from the house after 15 days,” she said.
“You enjoyed a taste of fame – radio and television interviews, hosting nightclub gigs – but that fame did not last.”
Pepper was jailed for two years, six months, with a non-parole period of 18 months.
However, Judge Fuller said Pepper’s time spent in custody in the lead-up to sentencing had been a “wake-up call”, and he showed genuine remorse and regret.
She allowed him to serve the entire sentence on home detention.
“You’ve asked for a chance and I’m giving you that chance,” she said.