Orpheus Pledger: Former Home and Away star admits brutal attack on woman
A former Home and Away heart-throb has admitted to bashing a woman during a suspected mental health crisis.
Orpheus Pledger returned before the Melbourne Magistrates’ Court on Monday via videolink wearing a green prison jumper.
He kept his head down as details of the attack were read to the court.
The 31-year-old pleaded guilty to assault and injury charges after an early-morning attack at a Northcote home on March 25.
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The court was told the woman called triple-0 at 1.35am to raise concerns Pledger was suffering a “mental health episode” before disconnecting the line and saying, “He’s coming.”
Police issued a public appeal for Orpheus Pledger after he fled hospital in April. Victoria Police Credit: News Corp Australia
The TV heart-throb began acting at age 8. Supplied/ Instagram Credit: Supplied
Officers arrived 15 minutes later, finding the woman lying on the floor of her home and Pledger nowhere in sight.
A motion-capture camera caught the attack, with Pledger seen grabbing the woman’s hair, pulling her to the ground and stomping on her head.
He was released the following month for a court-ordered medical assessment amid concerns for his mental health before fleeing the hospital on April 23.
The attack was captured on video. Supplied/ Melbourne Magistrates’ Court. Credit: Supplied
A public appeal was issued by police before he was arrested two days later and returned to custody.
Pledger played Mason Morgan in Home and Away from 2016 to 2019 before the character was killed off.
Most recently, he was a contestant on Channel 7’s SAS Australia in 2022 before voluntarily leaving the show.
Magistrate Justin Foster has indicated he will adjourn the matter to allow for Pledger to be assessed for a community corrections order.
“At the moment the court doesn’t know if it’s a mental health or drug issue,” he said.