A bearded tree-pruner pretended he was a former special forces sniper who fought overseas, his ex-girlfriend claims.
Adrian ‘AJ’ Kelly allegedly hoodwinked war veterans at his local RSL into believing he served in the SAS on two tours of Iraq and Afghanistan and one in East Timor.
His alleged web of lies included five medals, one from each supposed deployment, and two citations displayed on a bookshelf in his house.
Bearded tree-pruner and hipster model Adrian ‘AJ’ Kelly allegedly pretended he was a former special forces sniper who fought overseas
Mr Kelly with his ex-girlfriend Mel Dockley, who claimed he told her he was an SAS sniper
‘The night we met, the day we met, he told me he was an SAS patrol sniper,’ his ex-girlfriend Mel Dockley told A Current Affair.
But the heartbroken woman said he showed her photos from army websites with captions apparently doctored to say he was pictured in them.
The 34-year-old allegedly told her, and former servicemen, a tale about when he was separated from his unit in the desert and slept in a camel carcass to survive.
‘There was no reason for me not to believe him,’ Ms Dockley said.
The couple dated for many months, going on overseas holidays and attending sport matches together while she was blissfully unaware of the truth.
He had five medals, one from each of two tours of Iraq and Afghanistan and one in East Timor, and two citations displayed on a bookshelf in his house
Ms Dockley claimed he showed her photos from army websites with captions doctored to say he was pictured in them
Mr Kelly’s soldier friends also felt betrayed by his alleged claims of military service, one whom he befriended now calling him a ‘blight on the Anzac legend’.
‘He told quite a few of us that he’s been overseas, served in Afghanistan. So straight away people were shaking his hand because it’s a fairly big conflict,’ the serviceman said.
The part time model even included service in the army on his Best Models profile
His military friends were so convinced of his authenticity they thought nothing of it when he wouldn’t wear his medals at ceremonies.
‘He broke down in tears on ANZAC Day saying he didn’t like to wear his because some of his mates hadn’t come home,’ they claimed.
‘They can’t wear theirs so why should he wear his, and he was in tears. It seemed pretty legitimate to me.’
Mr Kelly prunes and chops down trees as an arborist
Mr Kelly with his late father at a State of Origin match in recent years
But in reality, Mr Kelly completed basic training with the ADF, but was medically discharged after several months, according to ACA.
The part time model, who moulds his beard and appearance on legendary bushranger Ned Kelly, even included service in the army on his Best Models profile.
‘I was asked to do some photo shoots off Facebook because of my beard which lead to me doing to commercials, movies, TV shows, magazine shoots, hair modelling and other photo shoots,’ he wrote.
‘It’s still all new to me but I enjoy doing it in between my normal climbing and cutting trees.’
Ms Dockley only learned the truth a few weeks ago and they have since broken up.
‘He’s destroyed my life to cover up a lie,’ she said.
In reality, Mr Kelly completed basic training with the ADF, but was medically discharged after several months