Benjamin Reeves charged with breaching Simone Holtznagel PVO after being cleared of stalking charges

Former CEO Benjamin Reeves might have been cleared of stalking international model Simone Holtznagel but that didn’t stop police arresting him just minutes after exiting a Sydney court.

A former CEO cleared of stalking international model Simone Holtznagel was arrested by police just minutes after exiting a Sydney court where the initial charges against him were dropped.

Benjamin Reeves appeared in Sydney Downing Centre Court on Thursday after pleading not guilty to stalking the Playboy model with the intention of causing her fear of physical or mental harm.

Police originally claimed the 59-year-old became obsessed with Ms Holtznagel and repeatedly turned up uninvited at events she was attending.

He denied allegations of continuously stalking the 29-year-old model over from April to July last year in Sydney’s CBD and eastern suburbs.

The former CEO of Australian Association of Graduate Employers was due to fight the charges in a hearing on Thursday, but police withdrew the charge at the last minute and the apprehended violence order in place to prevent him from approaching Ms Holtznagel was dismissed.

Benjamin Reeveswill be back in court despite being cleared. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Adam Yip

But in bizarre scenes, Reeves was arrested outside the court over the alleged breach of a second order – a personal violence order – just moments after the original case and AVO had been dismissed.

A PVO applies in circumstances where the defendant and ‘protected person’ named in the AVO don’t have – and never had – a ‘domestic relationship’.

It will be alleged the PVO breach took place on Wednesday night when police say Reeves was seen at a Sydney location being visited by Ms Holtznagel as part of the Vivid festival.

“On Wednesday officers from Eastern Suburbs Police Area Command commenced an investigation into an alleged breach of an (order) occurring about 6.20pm that day at Circular Quay involving a 29-year-old woman and a 59-year-old man,” a NSW Police spokesperson said.

Ms Holtznagel told police Mr Reeves had stared at her on six occasions.

The court heard she was not a reliable witness. Picture: Damian Shaw

“About 4.20pm yesterday (15 June 2023), the man was arrested outside a courthouse on Castlereagh Street, Sydney.”

Police charged Reeves with contravention of a personal violence order. He was granted conditional bail to appear before Downing Centre Local Court on Friday.

Outside court on Thursday, but before the latest arrest, one of Reeves’ lawyers said his client had been “vindicated” by dismissed charges.

“He’s just extremely glad that this is over now and he can move on with his life,” Osman Samin said.

After the dismissal of the charges, another of his lawyers, Steven Boland, made an application in court for police to pay Mr Reeves’ legal costs.

He argued they pursued the charges for a “significant period” when they had evidence which pointed to his client’s innocence.

“Every single arrow on the objective evidence points towards coincidence,” Mr Boland said.

He said CCTV footage of the Bondi bar exposed “vast inaccuracies” in the model’s allegations of stalking.

Simone Holtznagel appeared on the cover of Playboy in 2015. Picture: Playboy

She appeared on SAS Australia in 2022. Picture: Channel 7/Remco Jansen

She told police Mr Reeves had walked very slowly past the bar window where she was sitting and had stared into the room at her.

The video, which was played in court, revealed the former CEO had walked down the street without glancing at the window at all.

“I don’t think you can imagine a less criminal act than entering a pub and walking up a staircase if you tried,” Mr Boland said.

In another allegation, the reality TV personality claimed she saw Mr Reeves standing “within centimetres” of her face and staring at her when she turned around at the same bar.

However, footage of that moment showed he was further away and didn’t engage with her.

“The idea that he loomed up centimetres from her face is clearly untrue,” Mr Boland said.

“Her characterisation of what happened and whether it could constitute criminal behaviour is obviously untrue.”

Reeves was awarded court costs after the initial case was withdrawn. Picture: NCA Newswire/Adam Yip

He said the police had failed to properly investigate the matter and unreasonably continued to prosecute the case when the evidence was contradicted by the CCTV footage.

Mr Boland slammed the stalking charge as “embarrassingly lacking in objective support (and) utterly incapable of succeeding”.

“You shouldn’t be able to commit stalking by accident,” he said.

Magistrate Glenn Bartley agreed there had not been “adequate scrutiny of the CCTV” when police pursued the charge.

He said Ms Holtznagel’s evidence was “demonstrably unreliable” and the footage was “completely unsupportive” of her allegations.

“The incidents are too fleeting and too infrequent,” the magistrate said.

“They don’t arise enough out of the realm of coincidence to justify prosecution.”

He ordered police to pay Mr Reeves’ legal costs – which totalled more than $36,000 – as compensation for the unreasonable prosecution.

The former CEO was forced to leave his job when the original allegations came to light.

“Unfortunately there were serious ramifications for Mr Reeves’ employment but that will be dealt with in a separate context,” Mr Samin said outside court.

Ms Holtznagel has become a household name in Australia since she was a finalist in Australia’s Next top Model in 2011.

She has appeared in campaigns for beloved brands like Guess Jeans, Bras N Things, and Honey Birdette and famously modelled for Playboy in the United States.

The buxom blonde has also graced Australian TV screens with a stint on I’m a Celebrity … Get Me Out of Here! and a recent gruelling effort on SAS Australia.

Her sister Madeline Holtznagel is also a well-known local personality who is dating hospitality baron Justin Hemmes, who is currently embroiled in his own legal battle over the alleged wage theft at his Merivale venues.