NRL journalist Paul Kent has been charged with affray in Sydney. A video has surfaced which allegedly depicts the incident.
The 54-year-old was granted bail by police and has his first court date on May 24.
There is a co-accused who faces similar charges.
Paul Kent Affray
Paul Kent presented at Newtown Police Station this week where he was formally charged with affray.
Emergency services were called to Totti's restaurant in Rozelle shortly after 11pm on April 27 after reports two men had been become involved in a scuffle.
The incident was recorded and the video has quickly gone viral after being posted. The video has audio which appears to depict Kent saying, "You shit-talked me when I walked past" as people try to keep the men apart.
The men appear to call each other, "f***ing dogs" before Kent appears to shout "weak c***" at the man and appears to tell him to, "come here now".
Bystanders try to keep the men separated, but they come together and the altercation continues off the footpath outside Three Weeds Hotel and onto the road. The video appears to show the man tossing Kent to the ground, after which the video ends.
Days after the incident, Paul Kent told reporters that he had suffered injuries as a result of the altercation, "A couple of ribs are probably not like they should be...". His lawyer suggested he may have five broken ribs and a suspected collapsed lung which required hospitalisation as a result of the alleged fight.
Co-accused also charged
The other male depicted in the video has also been charged in relation to his role in the incident.
NSW Police released a statement which read, "About 11:20pm on Saturday 27 April 2024, two men allegedly engaged in a verbal argument before they became involved in a physical altercation outside a restaurant on Evans Street, Rozelle".
"Following extensive inquiries, about 6:45pm yesterday [Sunday 28 April 2024], a 35-year-old man attended Balmain Police Station where he was arrested. He was taken to Newtown Police Station and charged with affray."
Paul Kent Stood Down
Kent was stood down by Fox Sports and News Corp immediately after the incident.
News Corp released a statement which read, "Fox Sports presenter and News Corp Australia columnist Paul Kent has been stood down pending an immediate investigation".
Previous Charges
Kent was previously stood down for nine months after being charged with common assault, intentionally choking a person without consent and assault occasioning actual bodily harm.
At the conclusion of a two-day hearing at Downing Centre Local Court, the Magistrate found that he could not rely on the complainant's version of events over Kent's.
The complainant claimed Kent threw her to the ground after she took his phone off his home office desk, and put his hands around her throat, leaving her with injuries to her neck, arms and hand.
However, the medical evidence was that, "no such injuries have been found on the neck" and photographs of her arms were inconclusive.
He was found not guilty and reinstated as co-host of NRL 360 this year.
Affray Charges
Affray is an offence relating to public order and it is found in section 93C of the Crimes Act (NSW) 1900. Prior to 1988 affray in New South Wales was a common law offence.
A person commits the offence of affray if they:
- Use or threaten the use of violence towards another person and,
- The violence or threat of violence would cause another person of reasonable firmness who was at the scene to fear for their personal safety.
The maximum penalty for affray is imprisonment of up to 10 years. This is five times greater than the offence of common assault, reflecting the seriousness of the offence.
Despite this, there have been a number of recent examples of these charges being dismissed after an accused retains experienced criminal defence lawyers. Having the best criminal lawyers for affray charges will go a long way towards beating these charges.
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