‘Penthouse King’ Robert Mitchelson acquitted of assault charges against traffic controller

The well-known Melbourne real estate agent says his legal battle with police over claims he deliberately drove into a traffic controller “sucked the lifeblood” out of him.

Veteran Melbourne real estate agent Robert Mitchelson has had a big win over police after being acquitted of charges he deliberately drove into a traffic controller.

Mr Mitchelson – known as the “Penthouse King” – had been accused of intentionally driving his Jaguar XKR into the warden at Southbank in 2020.

The 80-year-old director of Icon Property was later charged with assault with a weapon, an offence which can carry a prison penalty.

A conviction would have placed his real estate licence in jeopardy after 62 years in the industry.

“This was three years of hell. I didn’t do anything wrong,” Mr Mitchelson told the Herald Sun.

The businessman said the ordeal, which had its origin in Southbank just 50 metres from his home, had taken a heavy toll on him.

“It’s been a very disappointing experience. It’s sucked the lifeblood out of me, fighting something that didn’t happen,” he said.

Rob Mitchelson has been in a three year fight which ended on March 17 when he was acquitted. Picture: Jake Nowakowski

Mr Mitchelson’s three-year fight finally ended on March 17 when he was acquitted in the Melbourne Magistrates’ Court.

He said he had earlier refused to accept an offer to plead guilty to careless driving because he had done nothing wrong and did not hurt the traffic controller.

An affidavit Mr Mitchelson prepared in his defence said a police officer had been convinced to lay “a raft of nonsense traffic offences.”

He said the warden had leaned against the front of his car before walking away without the vehicle striking her in any way.

Police photographs purporting to show injuries were of such poor quality nothing could be taken from them.

“No doctor’s report was ever tendered to this day,” the affidavit stated.

Mr Mitchelson alleged police had repeatedly refused to hand over an original copy of his taped record of interview, which he said would have proved his innocence.

Nicknamed the “Penthouse King” by others in the real estate sector, Mr Mitchelson was a trailblazer in the trade in top-line Melbourne apartment buildings.

He owned the famed Spray Farm on the Bellarine Peninsula for two decades until the 1990s and had TV and movie bit parts alongside some big showbiz names.