By Erin Pearson
A former Home and Away star is facing further time behind bars after pleading guilty to a string of assaults on a woman.
Orpheus Pledger, 31, faced Melbourne Magistrates’ Court on Monday via video link from custody at Ravenhall Correctional Centre two months after he was arrested while on the run from a court ordered hospital visit.
Orpheus Pledger in 2018.Credit: Getty Images
Police prosecutor Fionnuala Kennedy said Pledger attacked the victim repeatedly over a three-month period at a house in Melbourne’s north with one of the incidents captured on a security device.
The victim called triple zero asking for police help at about 1.35am on March 25, 2024. When they arrived, the woman was lying on the ground injured after being thrown to the ground by her hair by Pledger, who also stomped on her face.
She was later taken to hospital suffering bruising to her forehead, a laceration to her cheek, bruising to her right hand and marks to her face and ear.
Kennedy said the woman spent the night in hospital and had little recollection of the attack. When escorted home by police they noticed a motion-activated camera screwed into a light fixture in the woman’s lounge room, which had recorded the assault.
It showed Pledger approach the victim from behind, before grabbing her by the hair and dragging her to the ground and stomping on her head.
“While at the house, police also located the accused’s shoes – a pair of Vans sneakers – with the pattern bearing a likeness to the bruising on the victim’s face and ears,” Kennedy said.
The court heard that during an earlier incident on March 1, the victim was also thrown to the ground, punched and kicked to the face after an argument.
Pledger in a photo released by police this year.Credit: Victoria Police
Pledger was arrested on March 26, the court heard, but deemed unsuitable for interview after a medical assessment.
He was later granted bail on the condition he was escorted by police to hospital for an in-patient mental health assessment. Pledger arrived at the hospital about 3.45am on April 23 and repeatedly told staff he was going to “kill” the victim. He then fled the hospital at 9.30am and returned to the victim’s home to collect belongings, before being rearrested days later.
Defence lawyer Jasper MacCuspie noted during that time his client was unable to get the mental health assessment he required, which he noted was a widespread issue within the health system.
The court heard there was currently a shortage of ambulance and police resources which magistrate Justin Foster labelled as “outrageous”.
“The only reason I bailed him at the time was because there was nothing available for him to be … assessed in a prison setting. And there is no money in the hospital to have these important things assessed,” Foster said.
Pledger voluntarily left SAS Australia early in the series after being called on to discuss his lack of engagement.Credit: Channel Seven
“There’s a shortage of everything at the moment, it’s outrageous.”
MacCuspie also expressed frustration at the limited resources, which he said was a recurring theme in this matter for a man who had self identified as requiring assistance but had been unable to receive any.
MacCuspie said that once Pledger was released from custody, he planned to live with his father, a jazz musician, in a small town near Wodonga and hoped to learn the art of making music on electronic devices.
Pledger, the lawyer noted, had appeared in television commercials as a young child before leaving school in year 9 and later progressing into acting for popular Australian soapies.
Pledger was a child actor on The Secret Life of Us and played Noah Parkin on Neighbours in 2011. He rose to prominence while playing aspiring doctor Mason Morgan on Home and Away from 2016 to 2019.
More recently, he appeared on reality-TV show SAS Australia, in 2022. Concerns were raised during the production over his “erratic behaviour”, and he voluntarily exited the program after only two episodes.
His lawyer said Pledger’s offending appeared to have largely been sparked by a last-minute cancellation of an acting role in the US, where Pledger was set to feature on television series The 100.
“At the very last minute that fell through. It was a destabilising event,” MacCuspie said.
Pledger, he said, then descended into recreational drug use, particularly methamphetamine use, and relied only on Centrelink for financial support.
“He aspires towards acting in future, but accepts by virtue of matter that’s a somewhat challenging prospect,” MacCuspie said.
Pledger, who pleaded guilty to four assault-related charges, will be sentenced on Wednesday.
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