The model ex-fiancée of Australian actor Hugh Sheridan suffered a psychotic episode when he was found “heavily intoxicated” in a puddle of melted ice cream after stealing an expensive 5kg container, a court has heard.
Kurt Ackerman, known as Kurt Roberts online, appeared in Sydney’s Downing Centre Local Court with the support of his mother on Wednesday.
He has pleaded not guilty to charges of domestic violence and reckless wounding relating to the alleged injury of a man last October in Potts Point, in Sydney’s east.
Ackerman’s attorney, Kent Park, asked Judge Daniel Covington to dismiss the case and another one against the 32-year-old model on mental health grounds. Daily Telegraph reported.
Ackerman had previously pleaded guilty to assault and larceny in the second case against him, involving the theft of ice cream from a local ice cream shop.
Agreed facts presented to the court show Ackerman stole a 5kg container of Cioccolato ice cream, worth $350, from Rivareno Gelato Potts Point in March.
Ackerman entered the store three times shortly after 10 p.m., the court heard.
The first time, he was asked to leave the store after he tried to grab a worker’s hand, but he returned and had to be stopped from opening the lid of one of the ice creams.
Kurt Ackerman (pictured), the former model fiancé of Australian actor Hugh Sheridan, appeared at Downing Centre Local Court on Wednesday.
Kurt Ackerman (pictured with ex-fiancée Hugh Sheridan) has filed a motion to have two cases against him dismissed on mental health grounds.
The third and final time Ackerman visited the store, we saw him run inside, reach over the counter and grab a 10-pound container of ice cream.
A female worker attempted to stop Ackerman from leaving, resulting in a physical struggle that left her with pain and swelling in her right hand and wrist.
Police were called just an hour later to a street 300 metres from the store after receiving reports of a “very intoxicated” man lying on the pavement.
That man was revealed to be Ackerman, who was found lying in a puddle of melted ice cream, with the bathtub nearby.
Ackerman told officers he thought he was going to throw up because he “felt sick from eating too much ice cream” and consuming 10 to 12 standard drinks.
His lawyer told the court that Ackerman had been diagnosed with “substance-induced” schizophrenia and had previously used methamphetamine.
His request for mental health was not rejected by the prosecution.
The court also heard that Ackerman was receiving monthly injections for his mental illness.
Mr Park further argued that his client had no history of alcohol abuse and said the ice cream theft was the result of a “psychotic episode”.
Kurt Ackerman (pictured) was found lying in a puddle of stolen ice cream in Potts Point, Sydney, in March.
The court heard Kurt Ackerman stole a 5kg container of Cioccolato ice cream worth $350 from Rivareno Gelato Potts Point (pictured)
Ackerman had been admitted to the hospital four times since February.
Instead, Mr Park said it would be “in the public interest” for the court to order Ackerman to undergo treatment rather than go to trial next year.
Magistrate Judge Covington granted Ackerman’s mental health request for the assault and theft charges and ordered him to comply with all prescribed treatment and medication.
However, Judge Covington did not dismiss the application for reckless wounding, noting that it was a “serious matter” with a “much stronger public interest” because it was a domestic incident.