Former Home and Away heart-throb Orpheus Pledger violently beat woman: Court

A former Home and Away heart-throb has pleaded guilty to violently bashing a woman, with a court hearing the reason he became addicted to meth.

Fallen Home and Away heartthrob Orpheus Pledger has pleaded guilty to violently assaulting a woman at a Melbourne home earlier this year.

Pledger pleaded guilty to charges including causing injury and unlawful assault.

In court today, Magistrate Justin Foster adjourned the matter for sentencing until July 3 while the terms of a correction order are considered.

Pledger’s lawyer Jasper MacCuspie said proceedings had been an “unusual” process and argued his 31-year-old client had a “relatively limited amount” of “irrelevant” priors.

Mr MacCuspie argued that upon release, Pledger planned to reside with his father in regional Victoria to “get himself straightened out” and learn music.

The court heard the Australian actor’s life began to spiral into ill mental health and drug use after getting painfully close to breaking into Hollywood.

Mr MacCuspie said Pledger was in the “late stages of negotiations” to join the cast of the hit US drama – The 100 near the end of his time at Home and Away.

He said a “last-minute” rejection from the show proved “quite a destabilising event for him”.

Mr MacCuspie further argued Pledger’s “mental health has deteriorated while in custody” but added he has “never had a formal diagnosis”.

Pledger’s counsel stated that he began using meth in his mid-late 20s but never developed a full-blown dependency.

It was argued that his usage intensified after he was rejected from The 100, where he believed he had all but secured work.

He further added that 94 days of pre-sentence detention was “sufficient if not almost there” for punishment, arguing instead for a community corrections order.

Prosecutors argued the “nature and gravity of the offending … is a serious incident.”

“This is not a trivial case of … violence,” they argued, also ultimately accepting a community protection order would be appropriate.

Magistrate Foster said time was needed before sentencing for Pledger to be assessed for a community corrections order.

“At the moment the court doesn’t know if it’s a mental health or drug issue,” he said.

Orpheus Pledger

Disturbing CCTV footage

CCTV released by the court shows Pledger following a woman outside a residence before dragging her backwards in the early hours of March 25.

It is apparent in the footage the 31-year-old then pushed the woman to the ground, raised his foot, and stomped on her.

Images of the victim after the attack presented to the court and seen by news.com.au show what appear to be bruises in the shape of shoe prints on her face and head.

According to prosecutors, the soles of a pair of Vans sneakers belonging to Pledger matched the bruises.

Screen grabs taken from footage released by the court shows the moment the former Home and Away star violently assaulted a woman by dragging her to the ground and stomping on her head.

Police attended a suburban Melbourne home at 1.35am that morning after a triple-0 call cut out.

The woman was taken to hospital with bruising, small cuts to her cheek, and bruising to her neck, which police claimed indicated strangling.

Police earlier revealed the words “he’s coming” were heard on the emergency call before the line disconnected.

Police arrested Pledger later that day, with the news of his arrest first revealed by news.com.au in mid-April.

Orpheus Pledger played Mason on Home & Away for three years.

He has been in pre-sentence custody since his arrest on March 25.

Attempts were made to suppress Pledger’s identity and court proceedings, but a joint legal challenge by several news outlets, initiated by news.com.au, won the right to report certain aspects of the case.

Three-day manhunt for star

Pledger sparked a three-day manhunt during the court process after absconding from the Royal Melbourne Hospital on April 22 during a court-ordered medical assessment. He was taken back into custody on April 25.

At an earlier bail application on April 21, Magistrate Foster reluctantly agreed to have Pledger bailed to be medically assessed, stating: “He stomped on (the victim’s) head. The risk of something else happening and having dire consequences is striking.”

Detective Senior Constable Rhys Phillips had also argued: “When he is unwell, he is a danger.”

Pledger absconded from custody during his court proceedings. Picture: VicPol

Magistrate Foster later lamented “bending over backwards” to give the actor an urgent order for involuntary inpatient mental health care when Pledger failed to return to court the next day.

“I’ll never make an order like that again … (I) bent over backwards to try and offer someone mental health treatment as they require,” he told the court.

Pledger’s lawyer Jasper MacCuspie also expressed frustration, telling the court he was “immensely frustrated” by the fact Pledger allegedly spent six hours in the hospital waiting to be assessed – which did not end up happening.

CCTV footage played released by the court showing the March 24 attack.

Mr MacCuspie told the court at the first hearing after the three-day manhunt that he had not been informed of his client’s arrest by police until he learnt about it through the media.

He said that at “no point” did the court or police contact him to tell him Pledger had been taken back into custody.

“In some ways it was lucky the media reported on it …. because I would have had no idea where he was,” he said at the May 10 hearing where the court his client intended on pleading guilty to the charges before him.

“It’s a bit concerning from our perspective.”

The Royal Melbourne Hospital has not commented on how he was able to leave the state’s care or responded to claims made in court regarding his lengthy wait time.

Pledger’s slide out of the national spotlight

Pledger is perhaps best known for his three-year stint on the iconic Australian soap Home and Away, during which time he played student doctor Mason Morgan for 339 episodes.

The character was killed off the show in 2019.

He also acted in Neighbours in 2011 and starred in 26 episodes of the mid-2000s dystopian teen drama Silversun.

Pledger’s last TV appearance was as a contestant on SAS: Australia 2022

His most recent TV appearance was in the third season of SAS Australia in 2022.

After two episodes, Pledger abruptly quit the show when the cast and crew expressed concerns over his “erratic behaviour”.

News.com.au previously revealed Pledger was starring in SAS Australia while battling drug abuse and serious mental health issues, according to court documents.

A police statement submitted to the court alleged that Pledger was dealing with “declining mental health and escalating drug use” between February 2021 and his attack in March this year.

Pledger has suffered from mental health issues and problems with drug use in recent years.

Court documents also alleged Pledger has been “refusing to engage with mental health services and appears to spend his Centrelink payments on drugs” and had been known to police over that period.

In October 2021, he was revealed as a contestant on season three of SAS Australia, which aired the following year.

Seven never responded to questions regarding Pledger’s vetting for the show.

Pledger’s Melbourne-based talent management agency at the time of his initial arrest told news.com.au that they were unaware of his legal issues.

Originally published as Former Home and Away heart-throb Orpheus Pledger violently beat woman: Court