The NRL 360 host and Daily Telegraph columnist faced a barrage of news cameras as he walked into Downing Centre Local Court on Wednesday.
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Rugby league journalist and host of Fox Sports’
NRL 360 Paul Kent has pleaded not guilty to assaulting a 33-year-old woman – but police plan to charge him with a further offence.
Kent, 52, faced a barrage of news cameras as he walked into Downing Centre Local Court on Wednesday to answer to one charge of common assault, and one charge of intentionally choke person without consent.
He sat silently in the court as his lawyer indicated Kent pleaded not guilty to the charges.
A police prosecutor told the court Kent was expected to be charged with assault occasioning actual bodily harm, but it has yet to be formally laid.
The court heard police would call two officers and the 33-year-old woman while Kent’s lawyers would call three witnesses of their own.
Former greats of the game, who have found themselves on the receiving end of Kent’s criticisms, say the columnist should face the same scrutiny the media dishes out to players.
NSW Police on Friday were called to a home in Lilyfield following reports of a dispute, a statement said.
The woman was arrested and taken to Newtown police station before being released without charge.
Kent was charged at Surry Hills station before being released on bail accused of attacking the woman known to him.
Kent’s charges were addressed in only the briefest terms on
NRL 360 when it went to air on Monday.
Kent arrives at the Downing Centre on Wednesday.CREDIT:BROOK MITCHELL
“Paul Kent is stood down while he deals with personal issues,” co-host Braith Anasta told viewers.
Anasta’s statement was very similar to that released by Kent’s employers, Foxtel and News Corp, which indicated he was also stood down from his weekly column for The Daily Telegraph.
All past episodes of
NRL 360 featuring Kent have been removed from streaming service Kayo.
Prominent names in rugby league took to social media as news of the charges broke.
Former Sharks and Raiders player Todd Carney posted an image of a jovial Robert De Niro waving with Kent’s name in capital letters.
Kent had called Carney’s sacking from the Sharks in 2014 “a victory for common sense”.
Others called out the coverage, or lack thereof, by Kent’s employers.
“If that was a player there would be 15 stories with very little facts & cameras at their house,” former Dragons, Eels and Cowboys hooker Cameron King tweeted.
Bulldogs great turned boxer Sonny Bill Williams said Kent “never shone away from pointing the finger” at players and questioned their morals when they made mistakes.
“Someone who has always held the players accountable for their actions off the field needs to be held to account for his also,” Williams tweeted.
Veteran halfback James Maloney said assaulting women was “the lowest of the low”.
“I hope he is treated exactly as a player would be. His job makes him a public figure in the game so there’s no difference,” Maloney tweeted.
Kent will return to court in December for a further hearing.
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