He appeared in Melbourne Magistrates’ Court over video link today, reports the Sydney Morning Herald, and is set to be sentenced on Wednesday this weekafter pleading guilty to four charges relating to assault.
According to police prosecutor Fionnuala Kennedy, Pledger assaulted the victim several times at a home in Melbourne over the course of three months. One of these incidents was captured on CCTV.
Police were called to the house at 1.35am on March 25, and a woman was taken to hospital with bruising on her neck and minor lacerations on her cheek.
The footage of the assault was shown in court, after which Magistrate Justin Foster said, “It’s reasonably clear that he stomped on [the woman’s] head.”
The 25-second clip shows Pledger approaching the woman before grabbing her and pulling her to the ground before stomping on her head. Police found that the bruising on the woman’s face matched the soles of a pair of shoes belonging to Pledger.
Pledger was arrested on March 26 but was not interviewed as the court deemed him in need of medical help, granting him bail to attend a mental health assessment in hospital in April.
He absconded and returned to the victim’s home before his second arrest days later.
His defence lawyer Jasper MacCuspie said the fact that Pledger’s mental health was not assessed at that time signalled an issue with the Australian health system.
Magistrate Justin Foster agreed that there was an “outrageous” shortage of resources. “The only reason I bailed him at the time was because there was nothing available for him to be ... assessed in a prison setting.”
Orpheus Pledger starred in Neighbours and Home and Away among other shows. Photo / Instagram
MacCuspie went on to say that Pledger’s behaviour seemed to stem from the cancellation of an upcoming acting role in the US. “It was a destabilising event”, he said, noting that after this, his client began using methamphetamine.
“He aspires towards acting in future, but accepts by virtue of matter that’s a somewhat challenging prospect,” he added.
Pledger first appeared on screen in The Secret Life of Us in 2001 at just 8 years old. He’s also appeared on Silversun and Neighbours, though he’s best known for starring inHome and Away from 2016 to 2019.
More recently, he featured on SAS Australia in 2022 but left the show amid concerns from the cast and crew over his “erratic behaviour”.
