Kent reveals police officer’s advice after alleged…

Prominent sports journalist Paul Kent has revealed how an argument over a bottle of wine helped spark explosive allegations of domestic violence.

The rugby league presenter appeared at Downing Center Local Court on Tuesday as he fights allegations he assaulted and strangled his ex-partner.

Police allege the 53-year-old assaulted his then-girlfriend following a domestic disturbance at their home in Lilyfield, in Sydney’s inner west, in May.

Taking the stand Tuesday, Kent told the court he did not strangle the woman, but admitted to having a physical “struggle” over the sportswriter’s cellphone.

Kent said he was writing a column in his office when his CCTV alerted him that the woman, from whom he had separated the night before, was entering his garden.

Confronting her in the hallway, Kent said the woman demanded to see his phone “to get answers” after calling him “too much of a coward” to respond to her texts.

Kent told the court he told the woman “nothing was wrong” and ordered her to leave the house, before she snatched the phone from his desk.

According to Kent, a physical fight ensued between the couple, who picked the woman up to spin her around and tried to take the phone out of her hands.

After ending up on the ground while struggling to grab the phone, Kent said the woman accused him of choking and assaulting her and said she would call the police.

During cross-examination, the prosecutor questioned Mr. Kent about the couple’s on-again, off-again relationship which he described as “graded by mistrust.”

The Daily Telegraph and Fox Sports presenter told the court he believed the couple had largely broken up before she called him the day before the alleged incident.

‘She asked if she could come and give him a hug. I said, ‘I don’t think it’s a good idea’… we kept talking and she cried a little harder,’ Mr Kent said.

The Fox host said he relented and told the woman to come over before the couple had sex. Later, he said she became indignant after opening the refrigerator.

‘He saw a bottle of Prosecco in the fridge. She said, ‘Who the fuck is this?’ I had no idea… I said, ‘What are you talking about?’” Mr. Kent said.

Kent said he invited staff from a nearby hotel to his home the previous Saturday, but had forgotten the bottle of wine from a previous occasion.

After revealing to the woman the names of those who had come to the house, Kent said he decided to end the relationship, stating, “I’ve had enough.”

‘This shows me that (the relationship) is not going to work. I’ve finished. I want you to go. I know we’ve done this before, but this is it. We’re done,’ she said.

Kent said he felt “relief” after the breakup and proceeded to ignore the woman’s texts and phone calls until late into the night.

The court was told Kent had also told the woman they were “over” in March, before she stayed at his home again in April 2023.

Kent also told the court about a previous argument in August 2022 when he said the woman fled down the street with her phone after an argument.

The sports journalist further stated that after his arrest and while waiting for transportation to the police station, an officer told him that “the woman’s case is weak.”

“At one point, an officer opened the door and said, ‘I can’t give you any legal advice, but when they take you to the station they’re going to ask you three things,’” he said.

‘They will ask you: if you want to be interviewed, say no; If you strangled her, say no. They will also ask you if you attacked her, say no.’

“If you say no to all three things, they’ll probably let you go because her (the woman’s) case is weak.” After that, I said ‘Thank you’.’

During the second and final day of hearings, the court also heard testimony from a physical therapist who reported “yellowish” bruising around the woman’s neck.

“There was evidence of trauma due to the yellowish bruising and swelling and the physical presentation of the neck with a reduced range of motion,” physiotherapist Stuart McKay said.

‘My conclusion was that the injury was the result of trauma to the neck. I can’t tell if it’s strangulation. But it was consistent with neck trauma.

On Monday, the court was shown body images of Kent and the woman, who told officers the Fox host had his hands “around her throat.”

‘I didn’t expect this to happen. “I don’t want to ruin his life… He’s done this before and I’ve given him a second chance,” the woman said.

Kent claimed he woke up to an alert on his CCTV that the woman had entered his house through the back door after the couple separated the night before.

‘I didn’t hit her. “I didn’t hit her…she wasn’t in danger…The only time I touched her was to try to get my phone back,” Kent said.

He went on to accuse the woman, Lucy Kennedy, of threatening in the past to call the police, which could affect her employment.

During the footage, a man who identified himself as Kent’s “head of Fox Sports” arrived and spoke to officers at the scene.

Kent was arrested at the scene before being taken to a nearby police station and charged with common assault and suffocation of a person without consent.

In November, police added a third charge of assault occasioning actual bodily harm. Kent has pleaded not guilty to all three charges.