A former Home and Away star’s history of allegedly assaulting his mother has been aired in court – as it’s revealed he’s accused of stomping on her head.
Orpheus Pledger, 30, appeared via video link in Melbourne Magistrates Court on Monday facing charges related to an alleged assault in Northcote on March 26.
Pledger – who played Mason Morgan on the soap for 339 episodes from 2016 to 2019 – applied for bail, having been remanded in custody since his arrest about a month ago.
Security footage allegedly shows Pledger grabbing his mother by the hair and throwing her to the ground before stomping on her head.
Former Home and Away star, Orpheus Pledger (pictured on set), has been accused of assaulting one person nine times since 2021
The former TV star sat quietly as police prosecutor Olivia Sparrow and Pledger’s defence solicitor, Jasper MacCuspie, entered submissions about whether he should be granted bail.
The court heard Pledger’s mother allegedly called Triple Zero to warn police that he was in the midst of a mental health incident.
She was heard saying ‘he’s coming’ before the line cut out, the court was told.
Pledger’s mother allegedly suffered a number of severe injuries from the March 25 incident, including hematomas to her forehead, cuts to her cheek and bruising to her neck, back of the hand and cheek.
She ‘believes he will eventually kill her’, the court was told, and supports police acting on the alleged assaults.
Ms Sparrow recommended that Pledger remain in custody as he is a ‘unacceptable risk’ to the community while homeless and allegedly suffering drug and mental health issues.
She also opposed an in-patient mental health assessment order made during a bail hearing last week, as staff can’t physically prevent him from leaving.
Presiding Magistrate Justin Foster agreed while noting ‘he clearly needs help’.
‘Clinically he might get on his drugs and whatever treatment he needs and show improvement. Then he can be released into the community,’ he said.
‘The risk of something further happening and having dire consequences is striking.’
Pledger is facing charges related to the alleged final assault on March 26 where he was recorded allegedly throwing the victim to the floor and stomping on their head
Mr MacCuspie told the court there was a ‘difficult balancing act’ between the safety of the community and making sure Pledger receives treatment.
He conceded the footage of the alleged incident would most likely have his client imprisoned for some time.
Only mental health treatment would ‘break the cycle’ Pledger is in, he told the court.
‘A period of time in incarceration without supports won’t break that cycle,’ Mr MacCuspie told the court.
He said the ‘best opportunity’ to provide Pledger with support was with the ‘experienced staff in the hospital system’.
In a letter to the defence solicitor, Victorian Institute of Forensic Mental Health psychologist Sam Pang said it was ‘his firm belief that (Pledger) be admitted and spend substantial time at the hospital’.
Pledger can be held involuntarily by staff after the assessment order, the court heard.
Magistrate Foster granted bail so Pledger could receive an assessment.
‘(Pledger) can’t be kept on remand indefinitely and with that in mind, taking in view the safety of (the victim), he will be involuntarily assessed,’ he said.
Pledger will however be brought back into court on Tuesday following the assessment to review bail conditions.
If he receives treatment he will face court via video link and if not, will be brought into court in person.
He was granted bail to receive a mental health assessment before having his bail conditions reworked in court on Tuesday (pictured, Pledger on SAS Australia in 2022)
Pledger has been an actor since he was eight-years-old when he first appeared in the Network Ten soap opera, The Secret Life of Us, in 2001.
His first big break came in the mid-2000s teen drama Silversun before landing himself on 36 episodes of Neighbours as Noah Parkin, a ‘free-spirited teen who will set some hearts on fire’.
While at the peak of his Home and Away fame in 2018, the then 24-year-old asked his fans to vote for him at Cleo’s Bachelor of the Year, saying he would be ‘really pleased if I was to win’.
He stopped acting after his character was killed off the show.
He would make two returns to the silver screen in 2020 on the Full Monty and in 2022 on SAS Australia which he dramatically quit the show after refusing to do mundane tasks.
