Home and Away star Orpheus Pledger freed from jail early after admitting to assaulting woman twice
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Orpheus Pledger, aged 31, was originally sentenced to seven months of imprisonment by Magistrate Justin Foster at Melbourne Magistrates' Court on Friday August 16. He was also ordered to be placed on a 12-month community corrections order upon his release.
He appealed his sentence, however, and a County Court of Victoria judge ruled he had served enough time behind bars.
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Hide AdIn July, former TV star Pledger pleaded guilty to charges of recklessly causing injury and unlawful assault, relating to two attacks on an unnamed woman. The attacks took place in March when he was having a suspected mental health crisis.
On Tuesday (November 12), County Court of Victoria Judge Michael Tinney said Pledger could be released despite hearing evidence of “worrying behavioural signs” displayed by the former actor while he was free on bail, as reported by Daily Mail Australia.
The court heard bail monitors noted Pledger had missed several appointments in the past two months and had exhibited concerning behavioural changes, including being overly talkative, speaking off topic, grandiosity and euphoria, and had also self-adjusted his medication.


Judge Tinney acknowledged that the “wheels seemed to be falling off” of Pledger's rehabilitation. The shamed former TV star denied he had relapsed into drug use, the court was told, but had not been tested.
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Hide AdJudge Tinney said he was “deeply troubled” by the development, noting a psychiatrist had found Pledger was at an increased risk of reoffending if he relapsed into drug use. “His relevant functioning had deteriorated to the extent it's described as concerning,” he said.
Pledger’s barrister Jonathan Barrera argued his client had already served 97 days of pre-sentence detention and should be released on a community corrections order. He also argued Pledger's early guilty plea, limited criminal history and good prospects of rehabilitation ought go towards a lighter sentence, noting that while he still could not explain why he had attacked the woman he had shown remorse. Judge Tinney agreed.
The court was previously told the woman called police at 1.35am on Monday March 25 amid fears for Pledger's mental health, with the line disconnecting after she said “he's here”.
Officers arrived at her location 15 minutes later to find her injured and unable to get up off the floor. She was taken to hospital where doctors observed multiple bruises to her face and neck, with 'diamond-shaped' bruising on her cheek which matched the sole of Pledger's shoe.
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Hide AdIt was later found that a motion-capture camera screwed into a light bulb had captured part of the attack, and Pledger was seen dragging the woman by the hair and stomping on her head.
The court was told Pledger had previously assaulted the same woman around three weeks earlier, on Friday March 1, and he punched and kicked her when she confronted him about his drug use and erratic behaviour.
He was released on bail in late April to undergo a medical assessment but fled after waiting in the Royal Melbourne Hospital for six and half hours, prompting police to launch a manhunt for him which lasted for three days.
Nursing staff later described him as “quite elevated” and told police he had said he was going to “kill”.
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Hide AdPledger was rearrested in the Melbourne suburb of Reservoir on Thursday April 25 and returned to custody. Pledger was then released on bail to live with his father in northern Victoria in July, after spending a total of three months in custody.
Pledger’s lawyer Justin MacCuspie told the court his client's recreational drug use escalated and the actor's mental health had deteriorated after he was refused a role on US series The 100.
“He certainly feels terrible for what has happened and the impact it's had,” MacCuspie said. “Overall, in my submission, he's done everything he possibly can to prove to Your Honour he's addressing the underlying causes that brought him before the court,” he went on.
Foster said it was now known Pledger began using drugs six years earlier, and denied missing out on The 100 had a significant impact.
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Hide Ad“Your mental health deteriorated because of drugs rather than any underlying issue,” Foster said. “The actions of stomping. . . was unacceptable in any way shape or form.”
He also told Pledger: “This court does not and can not allow the use of drugs to explain violence against women. It now transpires you mostly minimise your involvement and blame the victim.”
Pleger played Mason Morgan in Home and Away from 2016 to 2019 and was most recently a contestant on SAS Australia in 2022. Under the corrections order, he will now have to complete 150 hours of unpaid community work and receive treatment for drug abuse and mental health issues.