Home and Away faces prison sentence for attacking woman

The court heard that during an earlier incident on March 1, the victim was also thrown to the ground, punched and kicked in the face following an argument.

Pledger was arrested on March 26, the court heard, but a medical assessment found he was unfit to be questioned.

He was later granted bail on the condition that police take him to hospital for a mental health evaluation. Pledger arrived at the hospital around 3:45 a.m. on April 23 and repeatedly told staff he was going to “kill” the victim. He then fled the hospital at 9:30 a.m. and returned to the victim’s home to collect personal belongings before being arrested again a few days later.

Attorney Jasper MacCuspie, who defended his client, noted that at the time he had failed to obtain a required mental health evaluation, which he noted is a common problem in the health care system.

The court heard there was currently a shortage of ambulances and police, which Judge Justin Foster described as “scandalous”.

“The only reason I released him on bail at that time was because there was nothing in prison for him to… assess. And there is no money in the hospital to evaluate these important things,” Foster said.

“There’s a shortage of everything right now. It’s outrageous.”

MacCuspie also expressed frustration with limited resources, which he believes is a recurring theme in this case for a man who recognized he needed help but was unable to get it.

MacCuspie said that after his release, Pledger 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.

Landing

As the lawyer noted, Pledger appeared in television commercials as a toddler before leaving school in grade ninth and later pursuing acting in popular Australian soap operas.

Pledger was a child actor The secret life of us and played Noah Parkin Neighbors in 2011. He gained fame playing the aspiring doctor Mason Morgan At home and away from home from 2016 to 2019.

He recently appeared on a reality show SAS Australiain 2022. Concerns were raised during production about his “erratic behavior” and he voluntarily left the show after just two episodes.

His lawyer said Pledger’s crime was likely largely prompted by the last-minute cancellation of an acting role in the U.S., where Pledger was scheduled to appear in a TV series. 100.

“It didn’t work out at the last minute. It was a destabilizing event,” MacCuspie said.

Pledger then began using drugs for recreational purposes, particularly methamphetamine, and was solely dependent on financial support from Centrelink.

“He has ambitions to become an actor in the future, but because of the circumstances he finds it quite a difficult prospect,” MacCuspie said.

Pledger, who pleaded guilty to four charges related to the assault, will be sentenced on Wednesday.