Penthouse cover girl and ex-The Block star Suzi Taylor looked different from her usually-glamorous self after being released from a gruelling 202-day stint behind bars including a month in solitary confinement.
The 50-year-old was walked free from the Brisbane Women’s Correctional Centre a month early after being acquitted of extorting a man on an escort date gone wrong in 2019.
Taylor emerged from jail on Thursday evening noticeably overjoyed as she posed for the cameras after 70 more charges against her were dropped.
Penthouse cover girl and ex-The Block star Suzi Taylor poses for the camera after being released from prison on Thursday (pictured)
The 50-year-old looked different from her usually glamorous self (right) as she left Brisbane Women’s Correctional Centre on Thursday (left)
Taylor was in April cleared on charges of extortion, deprivation of liberty, fraud and assault after being accused of attacking a man at her apartment in October 2019 (pictured before her prison stint)
‘Eighteen months ago I was charged and arrested for a crime I did not commit,’ she told reporters.
‘I feel I was unjustly attacked and made to look guilty just by being my silly self and being made to look guilty with false accusations, lies and untruths and innuendo.
‘But I am not guilty and finally I can say that and get on with life and start afresh.’
As Taylor walked down the street, dressed in black and wearing high-heels, she could be seen clutching a brown paper bag with her name on it – inside were her personal items initially seized when she got locked up.
Taylor was cleared on charges of extortion, deprivation of liberty, fraud and assault after being accused of attacking a man at her apartment in October 2019.
Queensland Police filed over 100 charges against her – including 94 counts of breaching bail conditions as well as drug and driving crimes.
But more than of the 70 charges were dropped at Brisbane Magistrates Court on Thursday, with the prosecutor offering no evidence on dozens of counts.
The Brisbane Magistrates Court dropped 70 charges against Taylor (pictured left leaving prison)
The Block star Suzi Taylor cried in court as she was released from jail after dozens of charges against her were dropped (pictured, before her prison stint)
Penthouse cover girl and ex-The Block star Suzi Taylor (pictured) looked unrecognisable after being released from a grueling 202-day stint behind bars including a month in solitary confinement.
During her time behind bars, the reality TV star was kept in solitary confinement for over a month, the court was told.
Taylor, whose real name is Suellen Jan Taylor, eventually pleaded guilty to almost 30 charges, including possessing small amounts of cocaine and marijuana.
The court took almost half an hour to determine how many of the hundred-plus charges the reality star was still facing before legal proceedings could get underway.
Taylor broke down as her court matters were finalised, having dressed all in back during the proceedings on Thursday, NCA NewsWire reported.
The court heard her first offence was in October 2019 after she drove a car that was taken from its owner, then left the scene after having an accident.
The prosecution asked for Taylor to be given probation and a suspended sentence, insisting she showed a ‘blatant and persistent’ disregard for the court.
Taylor was named Penthouse Pet Of The Year 1991. She had already spent 202 days in custody with more than a month in solitary confinement
As she walked down the street, dressed in black and wearing high-heels she could be seen clutching a brown paper bag with her name on it – inside were he personal items initially seized when she got locked up
Her lawyer Michael Gatenby described the remaining charges as ‘low level’.
Taylor was convicted but not further punished on all charges as magistrate Stephen Courtney ordered her immediate release.
‘Not meaning this in an insulting way, but your story is a sad one. There has been a real deterioration of your position and mental health,’ he said.
‘When one really drills down to it, while there are a lot of charges… the charges each and of themselves do not reach a high level of seriousness.’
Outside court, Mr Gatenby said it was a horrendous experience for a woman who did nothing wrong and called for an inquiry.
‘I think there should be an inquiry into the way the state treats people with mental illness,’ he said.
‘I don’t know how you would cope, sitting in a jail cell knowing you had done nothing wrong.
‘A lot of people have a lot to answer for – I don’t know how her mental health has withstood this behaviour.’