A troubled former Home and Away star has condemned the “unjust” perception that he is just “just another child star” who “lost the plot on drugs” after being accused of assault.
Police allege Felix Dean attacked his flatmate at his Botany Bay apartment on the morning of August 1 in a bloody attack.
He has pleaded not guilty to the charges and will contest the charges at a hearing at the local court on November 4.
The 27-year-old was due to appear in the NSW Supreme Court on Friday to apply for bail after spending just under three months in custody.
The former actor represented himself and pushed back against the idea that he was just another victim of toxic youth fame after getting his big break at the age of 10 in Home and Away.
“It seems to everyone … that I’m just a child star who got into drugs and life just took me, and that I’m impulsive and a danger to the community,” he said.
“That’s far from the truth.”
In a 30-minute speech to the court about his circumstances, Mr Dean revealed he has been jailed five times, but claimed ‘no one has ever been physically harmed’ by his offending.
Former Home and Away child star Felix Dean (pictured) has been charged with assault occasioning actual bodily harm over an alleged attack on his housemate
Dean rose to fame in Home and Away as VJ Patterson, the on-screen son of Ada Nicodemou (pictured)
“It’s clear, Your Honor, that drugs are not the problem. Drugs are a solution,” he said.
“Sometimes they helped me and they probably helped me in my criminal cases because I didn’t have the full capacity in my right mind to be stressed and angry about hurting someone.”
The former child star told the court he has “really tackled” his drug addiction and has not used intravenous drugs for the past two years.
He revealed that he is subject to a strict financial management order that bans him from accessing his own money and gives him an allowance of $150 per week.
“All of these violations, especially in recent years… have been in direct response to this financial management order,” Mr. Dean told the state’s highest court.
“All my transgressions have happened because I feel absolutely helpless.”
The 27-year-old told the court he should be released on bail so he could fight to be removed from the ‘restrictive’ order.
He said he sublet a room in his apartment to the alleged victim, whom he met at a poker tournament, in an attempt to supplement his weekly income.
Dean will face a hearing on the assault charge in November
The former actor claimed there were ‘inconsistencies’ in the alleged victim’s account of the ‘argy bargy’, which was apparently recorded.
He claimed that blood had been found on the man’s pillow before the alleged assault, but he could not get a “clear answer” from the housemate as to where it came from.
Mr Dean’s bid for bail was opposed by the Crown prosecutor.
Judge Tim Faulkner ruled that the 27-year-old had not shown why his detention was unjustified and refused to grant bail.
Mr Dean will remain in custody until he returns to the local court to fight the charge of assault occasioning actual bodily harm.
The setback comes after a tumultuous few years for the former actor, who has been in and out of prison for the past four years.
He rose to national fame at the age of 10 when he was cast in Home and Away as “VJ,” the on-screen son of Leah Patterson, played by longtime cast member Ada Nicodemou.
Mr Dean starred in the Channel 7 show for three years and earned Best Young Actor nominations for his work at the 2008 and 2009 Inside Soap Awards.