A would-be pop star has avoided prison time after being found guilty on a range of violent offences which included beating his ex.
Jayden Eric Appleby, 22, who was a contestant on Australia’s Got Talent in 2019, pleaded guilty to 13 charges relating to breach of bail and assault in Hobart Magistrates Court on Monday.
Between May 2023 to January 2024 he abused an ex-girlfriend on numerous occasions, the court was told.
Appleby was sentenced to six months in jail by Magistrate Chris Webster but he is likely to avoid imprisonment as he has already served 199 days as part of a pre-sentence detention.
He will pay compensation for damaged property and has agreed to attend counselling for anger management as part of his community corrections order.
Jayden Eric Appleby, 22, pleaded guilty to 13 charges relating to breach of bail and assault in Hobart Magistrates Court on Monday
Appleby gained national fame as a 17-year-old entrant into the 2019 season of Australia’s Got Talent where he sailed through the audition round
His toxic relationship, paired with ‘problems with alcohol‘ and exposure to family violence as a child were to blame for his actions, the court was told.
Appleby first got physical with his ex after the two met for drinks at a place on Kingston Beach to celebrate her recent job offer on November 24, reported the Hobart Mercury.
The prosecutor said police received calls from several members of the public who were concerned as Appleby had began ‘pacing aggressively’ and yelling.
‘The defendant was seen by police to be waving his arms in the air, yelling and swearing and hitting himself in the head with a rock,’ the prosecutor said.
‘Officers also noted Appleby as yelling words repeatedly to the effect of ‘Why did you do this to me, why did you do this to me, I want to kill myself’.
That same month Appleby was also found to have slapped and punched the woman in a separate incident on Sandy Bay Road.
Appleby was sentenced to six months in jail by Magistrate Chris Webster but he is likely to avoid imprisonment as he has already served 199 days as part of a pre-sentence detention
Appleby was found guilty of five counts of breach of bail and three counts of common assault.
He appeared on Australia’s Got Talent in 2019 at the age of 17.
During his time on the show Appleby revealed that his mother and father had been in and out of his life since childhood.
‘Growing up I sort of had it a bit rough here and there with mum and dad in and out –and myself in and out of home,’ he told host Ricki-Lee Coulter.
