By Alex Crowe
An arrest warrant has been issued for former Home and Away star Orpheus Pledger, who allegedly absconded from a Melbourne hospital during a court-ordered medical assessment.
Pledger, 30, was taken to the Royal Melbourne Hospital on Monday after being granted bail at the Melbourne Magistrates’ Court, where he had faced charges for allegedly assaulting a woman.
Orpheus Pledger absconded from a Melbourne hospital on Monday before a scheduled court appearance.Credit: Getty Images
The actor was ordered to return to court following the assessment but failed to appear on Tuesday.
Police are appealing for public help to help locate Pledger.
Footage released during his bail hearing allegedly shows him violently assaulting a woman after she left a residence.
The CCTV footage appears to show Pledger following the woman out of the home before dragging her inside. He can then allegedly be seen pushing her to the ground before raising his foot and stomping on her.
Orpheus Pledger as Mason Morgan in Home and Away. Credit: Channel Seven
Having grown up in Melbourne, Pledger moved to Sydney while filming Home and Away before returning to Victoria.
Police said the actor was known to frequent Northcote, in inner Melbourne, and the surrounding areas. They described him as about 170 centimetres tall with brown hair and a tanned complexion.
Pledger’s manager, Craig McMahon, said he had not been in contact with his client this week but that he had been shocked by the assault allegations.
McMahon condemned violence against women and said his client had suffered from mental health issues for a long time.
Pledger lived in Sydney while filming Home and Away between 2016 and 2019 but has since returned to Melbourne.Credit: Channel Seven
“We are absolutely devastated. This is a young man. It’s awful on every account for everyone involved,” he said.
McMahon said Pledger had previously tried to access mental health treatment and had co-operated with his management team’s attempts to get him help.
McMahon said his team had been “roadblocked on every single occasion” by mental health services. He said the Pledger he knew was a “beautiful, creative human”.
“I have no doubt Orpheus has been completely let down by the system, and I can only imagine how many other people out there needing help – and needing help desperately – are not getting it,” he said.
Pledger attends the Avengers: Infinity War screening in Sydney in 2018.
Pledger was a child actor on The Secret Life of Us and played Noah Parkin on Neighbours in 2011, before starring as aspiring doctor Mason Morgan on Home and Away from 2016 to 2019. His most recent television appearance was in 2022 on reality-TV show SAS Australia, where concerns were raised over his “erratic behaviour”.
He voluntarily left SAS Australia early in the series after being called on to discuss his lack of engagement.
When asked how he was handling the show’s training program, which is designed to reflect Special Air Service selection, Pledger surprised the show’s hosts by quitting.
“I want to go home,” he replied.
During the show’s exit interview, Pledger said: “Completing a course like this – if it’s exactly what I’m required to learn – then I’m gonna go for it. If I don’t wanna learn it, then I’m not gonna learn it. And if you call that quitting, then that’s quitting.”
His lawyer has been contacted for comment.
Pledger has been scheduled to appear in Melbourne Magistrates’ Court on May 10.
Cut through the noise of federal politics with news, views and expert analysis. Subscribers can sign up to our weekly Inside Politics newsletter.