Former talent show star Jayden Appleby pleads guilty of 13 violent charges
He took Australia by storm on reality TV as a budding singer and rapper, but alcohol and a violent upbringing has led to 13 convictions for 22-year-old Jayden Appleby.
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A former Australia’s Got Talent star won’t spend any more time in jail after he was convicted of a slew of violent charges, including punching a former partner in the face.
Jayden Eric Appleby, 22, pleaded guilty to 13 different charges on Monday relating to incidents spanning from May 2023 to January this year, including five counts of breach of bail and three counts of common assault.
Appleby rose to fame on the 2019 season of Australia’s Got Talent, where he received a standing ovation from the audience and four “yeses” from the show’s judges for his audition performance of the song “All I Want” by Kodaline.
The court heard Appleby’s toxic relationship with an ex-girlfriend, ‘problems with alcohol’ and exposure to family violence as a child were at the centre of the violent incidents.
On November 24 last year, Appleby and the ex-girlfriend met for drinks at a Kingston Beach establishment to celebrate her recent job offer.
However, Appleby’s ‘jealousy’ reared its head on the rocky coastline of Kingston Beach.
The prosecutor said police received several calls from members of the public as Appleby began ‘pacing aggressively’ and yelling close to the water.
“The defendant was seen by police to be waving his arms in the air, yelling and swearing and hitting himself in the head with a rock,” the prosecutor said.
“Officers also noted Appleby as yelling words repeatedly to the effect of ‘Why did you do this to me, why did you do this to me, I want to kill myself.”
In another November incident, Appleby slapped and punched the woman in a roadside dispute on Sandy Bay Road after a night out drinking for a mutual friend’s birthday.
Appearing in front of Magistrate Chris Webster at the Hobart Magistrates Court, Appleby was sentenced to six months jail.
Given he has already served 199 days pre-sentence detention, Appleby is likely to soon be released.
He was granted a community corrections order as well as being ordered to pay compensation for damaged property and attend counselling for anger management.
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Originally published as Former talent show star Jayden Appleby pleads guilty of 13 violent charges
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