O’Keefe guilty of assault in prison but off to rehab
EMBATTLED former TV host Andrew O’Keefe was found guilty of assaulting another person while in custody, a Sydney court has heard.
But O’Keefe, 50, will walk free from jail and attend a rehabilitation clinic after being granted bail on Monday.
The ex-Channel 7 star sported a close-cropped haircut and prison greens in a Supreme Court appearance via video link.
O’Keefe was hit with six charges in January after police alleged he grabbed a sex worker by the throat, punched her and pushed her to the ground.
He has pleaded not guilty to all charges.
Weeks later, O’Keefe was found with 1.5g of marijuana. He pleaded guilty but has not yet been sentenced.
On Monday, the court heard O’Keefe would be able to move into a long-term residential rehab facility and out of prison, where he has experienced “hardships of greater significance than those experienced by the average inmate”. Justice Robert Hulme agreed O’Keefe needed treatment for “his longstanding drug problems and mental health issues that appear to be, to a significant extent, trauma-related”.
O’Keefe’s defence team proposed a six-to-12-month stay at a male-only facility in Port Stephens, removed from people known to him.
But the Crown prosecutor noted O’Keefe had been found guilty of assault in prison, where he was removed from those influences.
“There appears to be a pattern in the offending there. When he’s confronted, it ends up in violence,” he said.
O’Keefe will also be prohibited from drinking alcohol or entering any licensed premises, taking illegal drugs or contacting victims.
Justice Hulme said a fulltime custodial sentence “was not inevitable” due to the lack of a violent record.
A hearing has been set for July 18 to examine evidence in the assault and choking allegations. O’Keefe will return to court in June to challenge a charge of breaching an apprehended violence order against another complainant.