Domestic violence charges against Michael Slater dropped on mental health grounds

On Wednesday (April 27), allegations of domestic violence against former Australian test batsman Michael Slater were dropped in a Sydney provincial court on mental health grounds. Slater was sentenced to a 12-month medication regimen under the doctor’s supervision by Magistrate Ross Hudson.

Slater, 52, was charged with stalking and harassment of his ex-partner by New South Wales state police in October 2021. He then violated a restraining order by calling his ex-partner 18 times, and sending her 66 text messages using a cell phone, and thus was forced to enroll in a mental health institution as a condition of bail in December.

On Wednesday, Slater was to appear at Waverley Local Court, but he did not show up after being detained on Tuesday (April 26) by the police and health officials. Sergeant Lachlan Kirby, a police prosecutor, told the court that Slater had been transferred to a mental health institution on Sydney’s northern beaches instead.

Slater had been diagnosed with multiple health issues

Instead of serving a prison sentence, the former batter was sentenced to three weeks in a mental health facility. Slater has visited five psychiatrists and managed to spend 108 days in numerous mental health facilities and had been detected with major depressive disorder, borderline personality disorder, alcohol addiction, and ADHA, according to the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC).

“Since February, Mr Slater has recognized his need to stay medicated and to stay on top of his mental health. He’s shown a tangible commitment to therapy and counselling,” the ABC quoted Magistrate Ross Hudson on Wednesday in court.

Slater’s case will be adjudicated under the Mental Health Act, and he will be required to follow a 12-month treatment plan, according to Hudson. He will also be subject to a five-year AVO (apprehended domestic/personal violence order) from his ex-partner as part of the judgment. Slater has been a part of the Australian camp between 1993 and 2001. He played 74 Test matches and scored 5312 runs at an average of 42.84.