Home and Away star Orpheus Pledger has been arrested after allegedly assaulting a woman. The incident, partially captured on CCTV, shows the victim being attacked and suffering significant injuries. Pledger was initially arrested but escaped and remained at large until his recapture late Thursday night. He was escorted to the Royal Melbourne Hospital for a mental health assessment and was later released from police custody.
The actor has a history in the entertainment industry, having appeared in various television shows including Neighbours and Home and Away. Pledger’s character in Home and Away, Mason Morgan, was killed off in the season finale in November 2019.
The CCTV footage of the alleged assault shows an unnamed woman being grabbed from behind and pulled to the ground by her hair. The assault happens just off camera but a shadow in the footage shows a man, alleged to be the actor, stamping on the female victim’s head.
The victim suffered horrifying injuries including a haematoma on her head and cuts to her cheeks and bruises.
Pledger was granted the right to undergo a mental health assessment at the hospital after his lawyer, Matthew MaCuspie, argued that his client’s mental health was at risk if he remained detained behind bars.
Magistrate Justin Foster said he would not grant a similar order again after bending “over backwards to try and offer someone mental health treatment as they require”. He also added that he was outraged a suspected mentally ill patient had been left untreated and unattended for almost six hours.
