Australia’s Got Talent star Jayden Appleby charged with common assault

A young rapper and singer who took Australia by storm on reality TV has been charged with committing a common assault. OFFENCE >>

• Repeat offender Kane Dallow behind bars for scamming thousands of dollars from Sisters Beach woman
• Convicted conman arrested after raid on Tasmanian home

A YOUNG rapper and singer who took Australia by storm on reality TV has been charged with committing a common assault.

Jayden Appleby, 19, appeared briefly in Hobart Magistrates Court on Friday morning in relation to an alleged common assault against a man in Hobart on December 6 last year.

The Blackmans Bay youth has more than 20,000 Instagram followers. His audition for Australia’s Got Talent from 2019 has racked up more than 1.4 million views on YouTube.

Magistrate Robert Webster bailed Mr Appleby to appear on September 16.

Serial conman jailed nine months over defamatory videos

A CONVICTED conman and serial fraudster has been jailed for nine months after publishing defamatory videos about Liberal politician Michael Ferguson.

Kane Dallow, 40, was found guilty of four counts of contempt of court earlier this year – including one count of scandalising the court – after intentionally disobeying orders by the Federal Court of Australia over the publication of four videos on his website and YouTube.

The first three videos included defamatory statements about Mr Ferguson, while the fourth video made claims of “a ring of protection for anyone that is involved in parliament”, with Ministers including Mr Ferguson “protected by every level of government and sadly more to the point by the courts”.

“Each of the contempts was deliberate and serious, and self-evidently so,” Justice David O’Callaghan said in his orders delivered on Monday.

He said Dallow understood court orders to not publish the videos, but did so anyway.

“And as to the fourth contempt, his degree of culpability is high because, as I found, he deliberately intended to scandalise the court and to lower its authority.”

Dallow previously claimed in relation to the first charge that “it was a simple case of me being able to vent in what was happening towards me and what I – how I was coping with things”, later claiming he was acting “in the public interest”.

Kane Dallow leaving the Launceston Magistrates Court. Picture: Chris Kidd

He also claimed he wasn’t trying to target the courts or attack Mr Ferguson personally – claiming he “felt we had a story” and “I felt that it was a story that needed to be told”.

Dallow didn’t offer an apology to the court, but sent Mr Ferguson a letter of apology for “any hardship, pain and suffering my stories may have inflicted on you and your family” – but Justice O’Callaghan found he hadn’t expressed any “genuine contrition”.

Dallow has no previous convictions for contempt, but has “an ‘appalling history’ of offending, including dishonesty, fraud, and breaching bail conditions, and has served multiple sentences of imprisonment”.

Dallow, who will be imprisoned until March 27 next year, was also ordered to pay Mr Ferguson’s legal costs.

Follow @ambervwilson