Home and Away star Orpheus Pledger has been praised by a judge for his brave actions involving a woman who was attacked by a homeless man.
The Sydney judge sentenced the woman’s attacker to four-and-a-half years in prison on Tuesday, but he ensured Pledger’s intervention did not go unnoticed.
The judge said of the victim: “She was indeed fortunate to have Mr Pledger intervene.”
“He is to be commended for … preventing any further injuries,” the Daily Telegraph reported.
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The incident occurred in April 2017. Orpheus had just left his gym in the Surrey Hills area when he saw the man following the woman. Believing the situation to be suspicious, the up-and-coming actor decided to follow them to ensure her safety.
Orpheus made a split decision to follow the suspicious-looking man.
Speaking to Sunrise earlier this year, Orpheus said: ‘My gut instinct told me that something was wrong.”
Then, the homeless man ran up behind the “extremely petite” woman, grabbed her around the neck and “hurled her backwards onto the pavement”, the Daily Telegraph reported.
The judge said the woman hit her head “very hard” on the roadway, and the homeless man then grabbed the woman’s handbag. That was when Orpheus stepped in, pinning the man to a nearby car.
The young actor said of the event: “In that moment all this adrenaline came in and I just kicked into action and I ran up to him and I was screaming and yelling at the top of my lungs, ‘Stop, stop, stop’ and I grabbed onto him and made sure that he got off her.”
The 25-year-old Home and Away actor said he “did what I’d hope most people would do in that situation”. Image: Instagram / @orpheus.pledger
Orpheus plays student doctor Mason Morgan on the popular Aussie show. He said he still fears what could have happened had he not trusted his gut and stepped in.
He revealed he’d never been in a situation like that, but he had a split decision to call the police or take matters into his own hands.
“To keep it simple, I think I did what I’d hope most people would do in that situation,” he told Sunrise.
“The way I’d been brought up, my core beliefs, I just did what I thought was right. I didn’t think of the consequences in the moment because all I saw was a person that was being threatened and I just needed to do what I could to help.”
“I’d do it again, absolutely.”
Props to you, Orpheus!
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