A Sydney judge has praised Home And Away’s Orpheus Pledger for jumping to the rescue of a woman being assaulted by a man last year.
The Daily Telegraph reports Judge Ian McClintock sentenced Justin Bird to four-and-a-half years in prison for aggravated assault with intent to rob against the young woman in April 2017.
According to reports, Bird had thrown the woman to the ground and grabbed her handbag, before Pledger jumped in and pinned Bird against a car.
Judge McClintock said: ‘The victim was a vulnerable young woman who was obviously entitled to be able to walk the streets without fear. She was indeed fortunate to have Mr Pledger intervene.’
He added: ‘He is to be commended for…preventing any further injuries.’
Pledger, who plays student doctor Mason Morgan on Channel Seven’s Home And Away, previously spoke about the incident.
He says he noticed a man stalking a woman in the street in Sydney’s inner city suburb of Surry Hills and instantly had a bad feeling. Pledger chose to follow the man and ensure the woman was safe.
Pledger told The Daily Telegraph earlier this year, ‘He just made a run for her. He ran 10 or 15 metres and grabbed her full around the body and threw her to the ground.’
‘My gut instinct told me that something was wrong,’ Orpheus told Channel Seven’s Sunrise program in June.
‘There was a split decision, there was a moment where I thought, Wow, this is actually happening, so of course I had the choice, but the way I was brought up I just did what I thought was right,’ he added.
