Suzi Taylor has handed herself in after police issued an arrest warrant when she failed to appear in court earlier this week.
The warrant was scrapped after the former The Block contestant’s lawyer explained it was a misunderstanding and that Taylor simply confused two separate hearings.
The 49-year-old was scheduled to appear in two different courts at the same time, her lawyer claimed, and insisted no further charges were laid for failing to appear in court or breaching bail, The Courier Mail reported.
Taylor, who won $349,000 with friend Yvonne Cosier in season 11 of The Block, is accused of luring a Tinder date to her Brisbane apartment then beating him when he refused to hand over his bank details in October last year.
Outside court, her lawyer said Taylor had a ‘chaotic life’ of late and was trying to turn a new leaf.
‘She accepts that she’s had a bit of a chaotic life in the last few weeks but has now taken steps to resolve that,’ he said.
The 49-year-old’s lawyers have claimed her failure to attend the hearing was a misunderstanding because she was listed to appear in two courts at the same time
‘She has sat down and given me really clear instructions on fighting her charges.’
Taylor will appear again in court on March 18.
The former model was released on strict bail to live with her cousin on the Gold Coast, but was arrested in January after she went missing.
A court previously heard Taylor left the house on Christmas Day to visit her children, and stayed in a halfway house.
Taylor’s lawyer told the court her cousin ‘ratted’ on her to police because she was jealous about who looked better in a pair of jeans.
Magistrate Pamela Dowse fined Taylor $300 after she pleaded guilty to two counts of breaching bail, but did not record a conviction.
Taylor told waiting media: ‘I lost a little bit of weight in prison so I needed a new pair of jeans’ as she walked free in January.
The former Penthouse Pet was listed to appear in the Brisbane Magistrates Court on at Roma Street for charges including common assault and breach of bail.
But she was also set to appear in Brisbane Magistrates Court 20 on George St to face charges of driving without a licence, contravening a requirement or direction of police, drink driving, obstructing police, breach of a bail condition, deprivation of liberty, extortion and possessing dangerous drugs.
The warrant had been issued for two counts of breach of bail, with Taylor to appear in court again on March 9
Taylor, who won $349,000 with friend Yvonne Cosier in season 11 of Nine’s hit reality series, is accused of luring a Tinder date to her luxury Brisbane apartment then beating him when he refused to hand over his bank details in October last year.
The Courier Mail reported Taylor showed up in court 20 on Monday, but the warrant was issued by the Magistrate in courtroom 1 when she didn’t arrive.
Police allege Taylor’s assault was motivated by needing to pay off ‘rebels and bikies’ chasing her for money.
After discovering her 33-year-old victim had no cash on him, police claim she said she needed it to pay off.
She is alleged to have called for her flatmate and co-accused, Ali Ebrahimi, to come and help her, who soon tied the man up with a phone charger.
Along with Taylor, he is accused of beating the victim while demanding the PIN to his phone to transfer themselves money.
Taylor allegedly told Ebrahimi: ‘No, he isn’t going anywhere, he has been here hours now. I have bills to pay, I have Rebels and bikies coming to my house chasing me for money, so I am not letting him go until I get my money.’
The former Penthouse Pet and nude model denied having any affiliations with bikie gangs or owing them money.
Taylor was listed to appear in the Brisbane Magistrates Court on at Roma Street for charges including common assault and breach of bail on Monday, but she was also set to appear in Brisbane Magistrates Court 20 on George Street for other charges
Court documents allege the midnight liaison on October 29 turned sour minutes after the unsuspecting man walked in the door.
Taylor had invited him for a drink via a message on another dating app, Plenty of Fish, and soon said they should ‘take this into the bedroom’.
As they lay on her bed kissing, Taylor – who the man knew as ‘Katie’ – whipped off her top to expose her breasts and then allegedly made her demand.
‘If you want to go any further you need to cough up some money… This is what I do for a living and my time is my money,’ she allegedly said.
The man said in his statement filed with the court he was blindsided by this demand because he thought the encounter was a hookup not him hiring a prostitute.
‘I believe by this comment Katie was implying that I needed to pay her for sex. This comment completely shocked me, and I have then said ‘I am not paying for anything’,’ he told police.
Prior to starring on The Block, Suzi posed nude for Penthouse magazine in the early 90s and once dated INXS star Michael Hutchence