Fallen cricket great Michael Slater looks VERY different as he walks free after a year in jail – as his sentence for a string of domestic violence crimes leaves Aussies outraged
Former Australian Test cricketer Michael Slater has sported a very different look as he was released from jail after receiving a suspended prison sentence for a shocking list of domestic violence offences.
Slater was handed a four-year jail term for domestic violence offences but has been released from custody after serving more than a year behind bars.
Slater, 55, was sentenced in Maroochydore District Court on Tuesday after pleading guilty to seven charges including two counts of choking a woman.
The charges also included stalking, assault and burglary and were related to offences committed on Queensland’s Sunshine Coast in December 2023.
He also sent a woman abusive messages, with police finding some of them when conducting a welfare check on Slater in March 2024.
Slater was pictured leaving the Maroochydore Watchhouse looking very different to how fans remember him, now sporting a thick, grey beard and appearing gaunt compared to his most recent previous public appearances.
The troubled sports star was pictured leaving the Maroochydore Watchhouse sporting a thick grey beard and looking gaunt after more than a year behind bars
Slater’s appearance was a far cry from how he looked when he was photographed outside a Queensland court in 2023 (pictured)
The troubled sports star, wearing a t-shirt, casual pants and thongs, walked to a waiting car with his solicitor following the sentence. He declined all questions from reporters.
Slater has spent more than 12 months in custody and made multiple failed attempts to secure bail before he was sentenced.
However, some Aussie believe he should still be locked up for his crimes.
One X user posted: ‘To understand the prevalence of domestic violence, look at the lack of consequences men experience for choking women. Playing cricket isn’t a moral act and alcohol addiction isn’t an excuse for being abusive.’
Another posted: ‘Former Test cricketer Michael Slater free after strangulation, assault sentence – ABC News WOW! What because he is Michael Slater This is sufficient! Once an abuser, always an abuser with or without alcohol! This does not send a good message.’
A third commented: ‘Home free while it’s likely Michael Slater’s victim will live in fear. Reps make an assumption that, because he hasn’t drank alcohol for a year, he’s likely not to take it up again. That’s bs. The only reason he hasn’t had alcohol is because he couldn’t.’
Judge Glen Cash on Tuesday sentenced Slater to four years’ imprisonment to be partially suspended after time served.
The remainder of Slater’s sentence is suspended for five years, during which he will risk being returned to custody if he commits another serious offence.
The former Test opening batter and Channel Nine star (pictured while commentating for Nine in 2013) was branded an alcoholic by Judge Glen Cash
Slater was cleared for release after he also pleaded guilty to a drink and drug driving offence in Maroochydore Magistrates Court following his domestic violence sentencing.
The prosecution in the case said Slater deserved a sentence ‘in the order of’ five years in jail, with parole after three years.
Slater’s lawyer Greg McGuire argued that his client should receive a three-year stint behind bars and be paroled immediately.
‘He wishes to go back to New South Wales, where members of his family reside,’ McGuire told the court.
‘Whether he gets better is entirely up to him. He has been without alcohol for a year.’
Supreme Court Justice Paul Freeburn last August heard Slater had a long history of mental health conditions and a number of diagnoses including alcohol use disorder.
Defence barrister Gregory McGuire at the time argued for bail conditions that included Slater moving to NSW and going into rehabilitation.
‘He was clearly in the grip of a terrible alcohol addiction,’ Mr McGuire previously said.
After making his debut during the 1993 Ashes tour, Slater played 74 Tests for Australia, amassing 5312 runs at an average of 42.83 with 14 tons.
Slater (pictured after scoring a century for Australia in 1999) has gone from one of the country’s most famous sportsmen to facing a tough rehabilitation battle
He also played 42 one-day internationals.
Slater retired from cricket in 2004, embarking on a television commentary career.
A NSW magistrate in 2022 convicted Slater of common assault, breaching a restraining order and two other offences against a woman.
Slater was drunk and erratic when he yanked the woman’s hoodie and she fell into a kitchen benchtop.
Over the following months, he tried to email, text and call her more than 100 times in breach of a court order.
