Andrew O’Keefe met the woman he is accused of assaulting when she was a sex worker

The woman who has accused ex-Channel 7 star Andrew O’Keefe of assaulting her at his Kent St apartment met him some time ago, when she was a sex worker.

Embattled former Channel 7 host Andrew O’Keefe had met the woman who has ­accused him of choking and bashing some time ago when she was a sex worker.

The woman told police she went to O’Keefe’s Kent St CBD apartment on January 25 to discuss establishing a flower business. She claimed an argument broke out that allegedly resulted in the ex-TV star punching her and putting her in a headlock.

O’Keefe, a former host of Weekend Sunrise and Deal or No Deal, has pleaded not guilty to six charges relating to the incident, and is set to argue he acted in self defence.

Andrew O’Keefe arrives at court in June last year on earlier charges, which were later dropped on mental health grounds. Picture: NCA NewsWire/Jeremy Piper

A source familiar with the investigation said the pair had an existing relationship before their disastrous meeting last month.

According to the source, the pair met “some time ago”, when the woman was a sex worker.

When the woman reported O’Keefe to police on January 26, she told them the meeting was in relation to establishing a flower business.

It is not known if the woman is still a sex worker. A suppression order preventing details of the woman’s “occupation” was lifted in Central Local Court on Friday.

Instead, Magistrate Lisa Viney placed a non-publication order on the woman’s name and anything that would tend to identify her.

O’Keefe, a former White Ribbon ambassador, appeared on screen for the hearing but said almost nothing. He is facing six charges in relation to the alleged assault on January 25.

This includes two counts of intentionally choking a person, three counts of common assault and one count of assault occasioning actual bodily harm.

In court on Friday, O’Keefe’s barrister Arjun Chhabra told Magistrate Viney his client pleaded not guilty to all the charges.

The 50-year-old was refused bail on January 28 but this could soon change. O’Keefe’s solicitor Sharon Ramsden is preparing to launch a fresh bail application for him in the NSW Supreme Court on Monday.

Chhabra told the court his client was pleading guilty to one count of drug possession in relation to 1.5g of cannabis that was found in the Kent St apartment on January 27.

The court was also told on Friday that O’Keefe had been hit with another charge of breaching an apprehended ­violence order taken out to protect a person who cannot legally be named.

The Saturday Telegraph can reveal that the charge came after police seized O’Keefe’s phone during his arrest on January 27. Officers then searched the phone and allegedly found a slew of communication between O’Keefe and the protected person.

The communication allegedly occurred in December.

Magistrate Lisa Viney ord­ered him to reappear in Central Local Court on February 25 on the criminal charges.

Got a news tip? Email [e-mail]