‘I would like to apologise’: Collingwood player Jordan De Goey pleads guilty over New York bar brawl
Collingwood star Jordan De Goey pleaded guilty to a harassment charge over a New York bar brawl. But now he must abide by new rules from a US court.
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Jordan De Goey has pleaded guilty to a harassment charge over a New York bar brawl and apologised for his actions, as part of a plea deal that will require him to attend anger management and alcohol therapy sessions.
The Collingwood star, wearing a white collared shirt and black jacket, appeared before Judge Martinez Alonso virtually from Melbourne in Manhattan’s Criminal Court on Friday afternoon local time.
De Goey was arrested and charged after he became involved in an altercation at the PHD Rooftop Lounge atop of the Dream Hotel in Manhattan on Halloween. The incident saw him spend the night in a jail cell.
His lawyer Jacob Kaplan told the court that De Goey had withdrawn his previous not guilty plea to assault and harassment charges to plead guilty to the lesser charge of harassment in the second degree – which is a violation and not a criminal offence.
“Yes ma’am,” De Goey responded when asked if he was pleading guilty to the downgraded charge voluntarily.
Judge Alonso asked De Goey if it was correct that he had threatened and “struck another individual” on the night in question.
“Yes that’s correct,” De Goey responded.
The court heard that De Goey will be required to attend 10 therapy sessions that focus on alcohol and anger management as part of the agreement.
“I would like to apologise for my actions and I appreciate the process going forward,” De Goey said when asked by the judge if he had any further comment.
The off-season drama unfolded when De Goey was in the US training as part of an agreement with Monster Energy. De Goey had initial forcible touching charges dropped in the days after the New York incident.
De Goey has previously told friends a push-and-shove broke out after patrons helped themselves to drinks from his bottle service, with at least one punch believed to have been thrown.
The club initially suspended De Goey indefinitely but he was reinstated this month.
De Goey made a low-key return to the training track last week Collingwood also mandated that he have a counselling program with the club psychologist.
Outside the US court, Mr Kaplan said he last spoke to De Goey a few minutes before today’s hearing. He said De Goey was happy with the outcome and wanted “to move on”.
According to Mr Kaplan, the District lawyer was willing to offer the plea deal after seeing video footage of the incident.
“Showing them what actually happened … not just what the complaint was … showing them what really transpired and based on that they were willing to reduce the charges and offer a violation which is not a crime in the US,” he said.
The video footage – which was not shown in court or admitted into evidence – was supplied to the legal teams by the hotel as part of the investigation.
“It showed that what the victim said happened didn’t really happen,” Mr Kaplan said of the clip.
De Goey must remain “arrest-free” for the next year as part of the agreement. The order applies only in the US, his lawyer said. “But that shouldn’t be a problem,” Mr Kaplan added outside the court on Friday.
“He has 10 sessions to complete focusing on behavioural issues … once that’s been done we will write a letter to the court from the therapist showing that’s been done … and the case is over.”
De Goey has enlisted powerful New York defence law firm Brafman & Associates to help defend him. The firm has represented the who’s who of New York figures including movie mogul Harvey Weinstein, with De Goey likely to pay tens of thousands of dollars to fund his defence.
De Goey’s mate, tattoo artist Luke Dyson, was allegedly with him on the night of the incident, and is also facing related charges and expected to appear in court today.
Originally published as ‘I would like to apologise’: Collingwood player Jordan De Goey pleads guilty over New York bar brawl
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