Paul Kent has a loss in court after being found not guilty of choking his ex-girlfriend
- Paul Kent has rejected a costs application in court
- The footy expert was cleared of strangling his ex-girlfriend
- But the same magistrate rejected his plea for costs
EXCLUSIVE
Paul Kent has had his costs application dismissed by a magistrate in the wake of his not guilty verdict.
The footy expert was acquitted at Downing Center Local Court late last year of the charge of intentionally strangling a person without consent, among other charges of which he was also acquitted.
Kent, 54, was acquitted of strangling his ex-girlfriend during an altercation at a western Sydney home last May and was suspended from Fox League appearances during the trial.
A two-day hearing resulted in Magistrate Daniel Reiss telling the court he could not find the charges proven beyond reasonable doubt.
Reiss said Kent had acted in defense of his own assets after his former partner Lucy Kennedy took his phone away following an argument.
Paul Kent has suffered defeat in court after seeing his costs application rejected
Kent was acquitted of charges that he strangled his ex-girlfriend Lucy Kennedy last year
But on Wednesday, the same magistrate denied Kent’s request for police to pay his legal fees on the alleged choking charge.
Attorney George Elias submitted comments on Kent’s behalf, but Reiss denied his application for costs.
Kent has since returned to television screens and takes his regular place on NRL360 on Fox Sports.
Immediately after being cleared of all charges, Kent said the outcome was a “vindication” and that the charges had been a “setback.”
“The judge accepted what had happened, to the point that my lawyer was not even required to issue a final demand letter,” he said.
The same magistrate refused to grant Kent’s costs application on Wednesday
“It’s been seven months since I’ve had to sit there and feel like I’ve been wrongly arrested (and) wrongly charged, and I’ve had to sit there and have our public reputation torn apart by people who used it as an opportunity.”
‘Finally the truth is out there. It has cost me a lot, it has been a major setback in my life. But we all have our problems in life.
“This is my thing at the moment, so it’s now up to me to regroup and get back to my normal life. I can finally put this all behind me.’