Pledger pleaded guilty in Melbourne Magistrates’ Court to recklessly causing injury and unlawful assault.

During one attack, the victim called for help and police found her lying on the ground with bruises on her head and hand, lacerations on her face and signs of being choked.

She was taken to hospital where doctors observed a diamond-shaped bruise on her cheek, which matched the sole of Pledger’s shoe.

In the hidden camera footage, Pledger can be seen approaching the woman from behind, grabbing her by the hair and dragging her to the ground then stomping on her head.

Pledger, the court heard, had told police he put his foot on the woman’s face to de-escalate the situation and that she fell asleep on the floor, rather than lost consciousness, due to the violent attack.

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“Mr Pledger denied experiencing any particular stressor prior to the incident, and does not understand why he responded with violence on this particular day, other than to say he wasn’t thinking straight,” Foster said.

Foster said while the consumption of drugs formed part of an explanation for Pledger’s conduct, it was no excuse.

He said a feature of the case was that there had been a number of “moving goal posts” regarding Pledger’s mental health.

But the magistrate said he was “comfortably satisfied” Pledger’s mental health condition deteriorated solely because his drug use, rather than any underlying psychological issue.

In April, Pledger fled from a court-ordered hospital assessment while on bail and returned to the victim’s home.

A warrant was issued for his arrest, and the actor spent three days on the run before police arrested him, and he was remanded in custody again.

Foster said a consequence of Pledger’s conduct was the intense media scrutiny which surrounded the case.

He noted that Pledger had been praised on Channel Seven’s flagship Sunrise program in 2018 after he came to the aid of a young woman who was the victim of frightening attack in Sydney.

But the magistrate on Friday said just as Pledger was praised for his heroic actions back then, he had to accept the consequences of his illegal conduct and his public fall from grace.

“In my view, you cannot wax and wane. You cannot claim fame for good deeds and then complain about infamy for bad deeds thereafter,” Foster said.

“The adverse media reports of this proceeding now sit adversely side to side with those earlier positive media reports.”

Pledger, who has been staying with his father, stood in the court dressed entirely in black and stared straight ahead as the sentence was read out.

He put on black hooded jumper and small backpack as he was led into custody to serve out his sentence. He will be released in less than four months, having already served 97 days.