Paul Kent has a loss in court after being found not guilty of choking his ex-girlfriend

A magistrate dismissed Paul Kent’s costs application following his not guilty verdict.

The football pundit was acquitted of intentionally strangling a person without consent, among other charges he was also acquitted of, at Downing Center Local Court late last year.

Kent, 54, was cleared of choking his ex-girlfriend during an altercation at a house in Sydney’s inner west last May, and was suspended from his Fox League pundit job during the court ordeal.

After a two-day hearing, Magistrate Daniel Reiss told the court he could not find the charges proven beyond a reasonable doubt.

Reiss said Kent had acted in defense of his own property after his ex-partner Lucy Kennedy took his phone after an argument.

But on Wednesday, the same magistrate denied Kent’s request for police to pay legal costs over the alleged suffocation charge.

Solicitor George Elias made submissions on behalf of Kent, but Reiss rejected his request for costs.

Kent has since returned to television screens, taking up his regular spot on NRL360 on Fox Sports.

Immediately after being cleared of all charges, Kent said the result was a “vindication” and that the allegations had been a “setback.”

“The judge accepted what happened to the point that my lawyer didn’t even have to give a final summary,” he said.

“It’s been seven months that I’ve had to sit there and feel like I’ve been wrongfully arrested (and) accused, and I’ve had to sit there and have our public reputation lacerated by people who have used it as an opportunity.” .

‘The truth is finally out there. It has been a great cost for me, it has been a great setback in my life. But we all have our struggles in life.

‘This is mine currently, so now it’s up to me to regroup and get back to my normal life. I can finally leave all this behind.’