A former Home and Away star who led police on a three-day manhunt is expected to appeal after being sentenced to prison.
Orpheus Pledger, 31, returned to Melbourne Magistrates Court on Friday wearing a black hoodie, where he was sentenced to seven months in prison by Magistrate Justin Foster.
“This court does not and cannot allow the use of drugs to explain violence against women,” Foster said.
“Now it turns out that most of them minimize their involvement and blame the victim.”
Last month, Pledger pleaded guilty to charges of recklessly causing injury and unlawful assault, related to two attacks on a woman in March during an alleged mental health crisis.
The court was told the woman called police at 1.35am on March 25 amid fears for Pledger’s mental health, and the line was disconnected after she said: “He’s here”.
Officers arrived 15 minutes later and found the woman injured and unable to get up from the ground.
She was taken to the hospital where doctors observed multiple bruises on her face and neck, with a diamond-shaped bruise on her cheek that matched the sole of Pledger’s shoe.
Pledger (pictured) was a mainstay on Home and Away before leaving the role in 2019.
Parts of the attack on the woman, including the moment she was dragged by her hair, were captured on CCTV.
A motion-capture camera screwed into a light bulb captured part of the attack, with Pledger seen dragging the woman by her hair and stomping on her head.
The court was told Pledger had previously assaulted the same woman on March 1, punching and kicking 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 at Royal Melbourne Hospital for six and a half hours, sparking a manhunt.
Nursing staff later described him as “quite high” and told police he had said he was going to “kill.”
Pledger was arrested again in the Melbourne suburb of Reservoir on April 25 and returned to custody.
The former TV star said he wanted to “straighten up” after his release and had aspirations to make music.
Pledger was then released on bail in July to live with his jazz musician father in northern Victoria after spending a total of three months in custody.
Mr Foster had hoped to sentence the former TV star on July 3 but instead said it was appropriate to adjourn the case for six weeks to allow the community corrections department to prepare a report on Pledger’s “complex needs”.
His lawyer, Justin MacCuspie, told the court that his client’s recreational drug use had increased and the actor’s mental health had deteriorated after he was denied a role in US series The 100.
“He certainly feels terrible about what happened and the impact it had,” MacCuspie said.
“Overall, in my view, he has done everything he can to demonstrate to Your Honour that he is addressing the underlying causes that brought him before the court.”
But Foster said it is now known that Pledger began using drugs six years earlier and denied that not taking part in The 100 had a significant impact.
“That’s just what happened,” he told the court.
“His mental health deteriorated due to drugs rather than any underlying issues,” Foster said.
‘The actions of trampling… were unacceptable in any way.’
Pledger is expected to appeal his prison sentence and said he feels terrible about what happened.
Pledger began acting at age 9 in commercials and the children’s series Silversun before landing a role on Neighbours in 2011.
He would later take on the role of Mason Morgan in Home and Away from 2016 to 2019 and most recently appeared as a contestant on SAS Australia in 2022.
Pledger was sentenced to seven months in prison and ordered to be placed on a 12-month community corrections order following his release.
Mr Foster said he understood Pledger would appeal.
