Home and Away child star Felix Dean’s fall from grace as his latest shocking crime is revealed

The demise of a former Home and Away child star has taken another sad turn after it was revealed that he assaulted a friend’s father and demanded $300 in cash.

Felix Dean was sentenced to prison on Tuesday for assault after clashing with a friend’s father on October 21 last year.

Dean, who was homeless at the time of the attack, was also convicted by Waverley Local Court in Sydney for breaching a community correction order.

He had been charged with kicking a police officer during the lockdown and stealing an iPhone from a store employee.

However, he will avoid prison after his sentences are retroactively served and the judge gives him discounts for his mental health issues and underserved background.

Dean was only ten when he got his big break in Home and Away, co-starring Ada Nicodemou as her on-screen son, VJ Patterson.

It’s the latest run-in with the law for Dean, who was just ten years old when he got his big break in Home and Away, co-starring Ada Nicodemou as her on-screen son VJ Patterson from 2007 to 2014.

He started smoking cannabis when he was 14 and moved on to ‘ice’ within 12 months, first inhaling the powerful drug and then injecting it.

Magistrate Ross Hudson said Dean struggled with severe depressive symptoms, PTSD and drug-induced psychosis.

His most recent assault was in violation of parole and several community correction orders.

Dean was a few months out of prison when he saw the man whose son he went to school with for 11 years.

Felix Dean has fallen hard and fast since his days as a Home and Away child star

The magistrate said the attack came after three years of conflict.

“The suspect approached the victim from behind and yelled at him — the victim recognized him,” Magistrate Hudson said, according to news.com.au.

“The defendant inquired about (his son’s) whereabouts… (and) told him (his son) owed him $300 for an undisclosed reason. The suspect appeared agitated and demanded that the victim give him money.

Dean grabbed the man’s arms and demanded the money, with the victim threatening to call the police. Dean then left the scene.

Magistrate Hudson added: ‘I take note of an explanation given in a letter of apology to the court, Dean says ‘it has not escaped my attention that my actions have caused my family great pain’. I was homeless, drunk all the time, led a chaotic lifestyle, addicted to methamphetamine.” He says he recognizes the need to change course.’

Dean appeared from custody via video link and put his head in his hands, but seemed relieved when Magistrate Hudson said he could be paroled to his mother’s house.

Magistrate Hudson addressed Dean on Tuesday and said, “The mental health (problems) are there, you can’t deny it. You won’t get over it. You need to cut drugs out of your life. (If you do), the feelings you try to numb with drugs won’t necessarily be there.”

Dean was nominated for Best Young Actor at the 2008 and 2009 Inside Soap Awards for his portrayal of VJ. He completely disappeared from the spotlight after the performance

Dean was first imprisoned for 86 days in 2021 before being released under strict bail conditions in the care of his mother.

He then spent 37 days in Gordon Private Hospital and was on effective house arrest until his addiction spiraled out of control again in June.

Dean was jailed in October 2021 after attacking a tobacco shop with a hammer – the fourth time he had been arrested in two years.

Dean was nominated for Best Young Actor at the 2008 and 2009 Inside Soap Awards for his portrayal of VJ Patterson. He completely disappeared from the spotlight after the performance.