Bondi Rescue star’s famous friends lashed for their response to ‘appalling’ conduct

Friends of a Bondi Rescue star, including a former White Ribbon ambassador, have had their evidence criticised as “rehearsed”.

Friends of a Bondi Rescue star, including a former White Ribbon ambassador, have been criticised in court for their “rehearsed” responses to his “appalling behaviour” as he avoided conviction for assaulting a woman.

Andrew Reid, known on the hit show as Reidy, faced Hornsby Local Court on Tuesday after pleading not guilty to two counts of assault occasioning actual bodily harm and one count of common assault.

Prosecutors alleged he bit a woman’s arm, put his hands on her throat, and threw a phone at her with such force that it cut her leg and required surgical glue to heal.

The court was told Reid and the woman had been “wrestling” when he allegedly deliberately bit her upper arm, leaving teeth marks.

Bondi Rescue star Andrew Reid has been found guilty of assaulting a woman but avoided conviction. Picture: NewsWire / Gaye Gerard

The lifeguard provided four different explanations, including that he bit her because she elbowed his sternum.

Yet one of his explanations – that her arm entered his mouth when she fell on top of him – was dismissed as “physically impossible” by the police prosecutor.

In another incident, the court was told Reid threw a phone at the woman and it struck her in the leg, leaving a “nasty gash” bleeding on her shin.

Reid maintained he had either thrown the phone to the woman or thrown it on the ground and it flew into her leg, which the prosecutor noted were “two very different propositions”.

“Accidents do happen,” Reid’s barrister Margaret Cunneen SC reminded the court.

The court was told Reid’s counsellor wrote he had lost control of himself during the incident.

The counsellor’s notes also revealed Reid disclosed a subsequent confrontation during which, “in a fit of alcoholic rage, he flung his hands around (the woman’s) neck”.

He is known as Reidy on the hit reality TV series.

He was charged with three assault offences against the woman.

The court was told the counsellor recorded the lifeguard as saying “that’s not the kind of man I am” while visibly upset.

“It’s an admission to the offence of common assault,” the police prosecutor told the court.

“It’s done to his counsellor … without any form of inducement. It’s an honest retelling of what’s actually occurred.”

Yet Ms Cunneen argued the counsellor had written her notes after the sessions with the lifeguard instead of contemporaneously, which meant some accuracy was lost.

She said the incident arose when the woman rushed at Reid to reclaim the phone he took from her and he “guided her” towards the bed with a hand on her neck, but she fell over.

“It was very, very fleeting,” Ms Cuneen said.

“Andrew Reid is not a person who would deliberately assault a person under any circumstances. He’s not a violent man.”

‘I’ll drag you out’

An audio recording was played for the court of a confrontation between Reid and the woman after she entered his room late one night.

“Get out until you f**king apologise, seriously, I’ll drag you out until you apologise,” the lifeguard says in a firm and raised voice.

When asked about the audio, Reid’s former Bondi Rescue co-star Quinn Darragh said his friend had been “provoked” and there was a “clear distinction” between shouting and physical violence.

Former Home and Away star and Bondi Rescue lifeguard Ryan Clark agreed that the audio didn’t change his opinion of Reid.

Mr Clark has previously been a White Ribbon ambassador for the prevention of violence against women and told the court he was “still an advocate for women’s rights”.

He said Reid’s threat to drag the woman out of the room was “probably not the best thing to say”, but he didn’t think it amounted to domestic violence.

Bondi Rescue star Ryan Clark gave character evidence for his fellow lifeguard on Tuesday. Picture: NewsWire / Gaye Gerard

Reid’s fellow triathletes Katie Shedden and Dean Degan also gave character evidence. Picture: NewsWire / Gaye Gerard

Mr Clark accused the woman of “manipulating” the situation and said he “wouldn’t believe” allegations that Reid had assaulted her.

The police prosecutor said the former White Ribbon ambassador’s testimony was “extremely concerning”.

“This is someone who is meant to be supportive in bringing domestic violence issues to light and being compassionate to victims of domestic violence,” he said.

“Yet he stated he did not believe that recording was domestic violence.”

The prosecutor submitted the evidence of Reid’s five character witnesses was “rehearsed” and should not be relied upon.

Magistrate Daniel Reiss agreed there was a “striking similarity” in the witnesses’ reactions to the audio, which they had all heard before attending court on Tuesday.

He accepted their glowing remarks about Reid’s character but noted “people do things out of character when under significant pressure”.

‘Appalling behaviour’

The magistrate noted the audio recording “doesn’t fit with the picture being painted by the accused himself and his witnesses of Mr Reid being ideal in all circumstances”.

“Clearly in the audio, he was very angry, very upset … He clearly lost control and he was being very abusive towards the complainant,” Mr Reiss said.

“(It’s) really inappropriate and appalling behaviour which doesn’t seem to bother his friends at all.”

Reid’s inability to make obvious concessions about his loss of control undermined his reliability as a witness, the magistrate said.

He found the woman had been an “honest, forthright witness” but said he could not be satisfied that the evidence proved the bite or phone throwing were deliberate assaults.

Reid (centre, wearing a blue suit) was handed a two-year good behaviour bond. Picture: NewsWire / Gaye Gerard

Mr Reiss dismissed both counts of assault occasioning actual bodily harm.

Yet he found Mr Reid made a “fairly clear admission of assault to the counsellor” during their session followed by a recognition of the fact he acted inappropriately.

Pushing the woman’s neck for up to five seconds was “an aggressive act that amounts to common assault”, Mr Reiss determined.

He found Reid guilty of the offence without proceeding to a conviction. Instead, the lifeguard was handed a 12-month good behaviour bond.

The police prosecutor had pushed for a conviction, emphasising that Reid had not shown any remorse for his actions.

“Domestic violence offences are always serious and unfortunately prevalent in the community,” he said.

Reid will remain subject to a two-year apprehended violence order taken out in the woman’s name.