Footy commentator Paul Kent says ‘I can finally get back to my normal life’ after ‘justified’ Fox League pundit was found not guilty of assaulting and strangling his ex-girlfriend

Sports journalist Paul Kent says he is looking forward to “getting back to normal life” after the Fox League pundit was found not guilty of charges he assaulted and strangled his then partner at his western Sydney home.

After a two-day hearing at Downing Center Local Court in Sydney, Magistrate Daniel Reiss told the court he could not find the charges proven beyond reasonable doubt.

Mr Reiss said Mr Kent had acted in defense of his own assets after his former partner Lucy Kennedy took his phone following an argument.

Reiss described the “emotional and heated circumstances” that led to a “fight on the phone.”

“There is certainly nothing in the observable, objectively assessable material to support the existence of injury,” the magistrate said in his decision.

Outside court, Mr Kent told reporters 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.

‘It’s been seven months that I’ve had to sit there and feel like I’ve been wrongly arrested [and] wrongfully accused, and I’ve had to sit there and watch our public reputation torn apart by people who used it as an opportunity.

‘The truth is finally 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 all this behind me.’

The rugby league presenter had consistently denied allegations that he assaulted and strangled his former partner.

The court also heard evidence from a physiotherapist who had treated Ms Kennedy after the alleged assault, during which he noted yellow bruising and swelling on her neck and limited range of motion which he said was consistent with trauma to the neck.

A second medical expert who examined Ms Kennedy in the days after the incident said the evidence was inconclusive, which the magistrate agreed with.

Earlier on Tuesday, Mr Kent told the court that a row over a wine bottle helped fuel the allegations of explosive domestic violence.

Police had alleged the 53-year-old attacked his then-girlfriend following a domestic disturbance at his Lilyfield home in Sydney’s west in May.

Mr Kent told the court on Tuesday that he did not strangle the woman but admitted to a physical “struggle” over the sportscaster’s mobile phone.

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

As he confronted her in the hallway, Mr Kent said Kennedy demanded to see his phone “for answers” after calling him “too cowardly” to answer her text messages.

Kent told the court he told Kennedy there was ‘nothing to worry about’ and ordered her to leave the house before grabbing his phone from his desk.

A physical scuffle ensued between the pair according to Mr Kent, who lifted Kennedy to spin her around and tried to snatch the phone from her hands.

After ending up on the floor struggling for the phone, Mr Kent said she accused him of choking and assaulting her and that she would call the police.

Relationship characterized by ‘distrust’

Under cross-examination, Mr Kent was asked by the prosecutor about the relationship between the two, which he described as ‘categorized by mistrust’.

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

‘She asked if she could come over for a hug. “I said, ‘I don’t think that’s a good idea’… we kept talking and she cried some more,” Mr Kent said.

The Fox host said he relented and told Kennedy to come over before the pair had sex. Afterwards, he said she became enraged after opening the refrigerator.

‘She saw a bottle of prosecco in the fridge. She said, ‘Who the fuck does this belong to?’ I had no idea…I said, ‘What are you talking about?'” Mr. Kent said.

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

After revealing to the woman the names of who had come to the house, Mr Kent said he decided to end the relationship, saying: ‘I’ve had enough’.

“This shows me that (the relationship) isn’t going to work. I’m ready. I want you to leave. I know we’ve done this before, but this is it. We’re ready,” he said.

Mr Kent said he felt “relief” after the break-up, and continued to ignore text messages and calls from Kennedy until late in the evening.

The court was told Mr Kent also told the woman they were ‘done’ in March, before she stayed at his home again in April 2023.

Mr Kent also told the court about a previous argument in August 2022, when he said the woman fled into the street after an argument with his phone.

The sports reporter further indicated that after his arrest and while awaiting transportation to the police station, an officer told him that the woman’s case was “weak.”

“At one point an officer opened the door and said, ‘I can’t give you legal advice, but when they get you into the station they’ll ask you three things,’” he said.

”They will ask: if you want to be interviewed, say no; If you strangled her, say no. They will also ask you if you assaulted her, say no.”

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

Dispute over woman’s injuries

During the second and final day of the hearing, the court also heard evidence from a physiotherapist who reported ‘yellowish’ bruising around the woman’s neck.

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

‘My conclusion was that the injury was the result of trauma to the neck. I can’t say whether that is strangulation. But it was consistent with trauma to the neck.”

On Monday, the court was shown body-worn footage of both Mr 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 gave him a second chance,” the woman said.

Mr 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 had split up 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,” Mr Kent said.

He then accused Kennedy of threatening to call the police in the past, which could affect his employment.

During the footage, a man identifying himself as ‘Kent’s boss at Fox Sports’ arrived and spoke to officers on the scene.

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

A third charge of assault occasioning actual bodily harm was added by police in November. Mr Kent has pleaded not guilty to all three charges.