EXCLUSIVE
A Tasmanian fishing enthusiast accused of pleasuring his female partner with a live brown trout has been disowned by his late father’s legendary angling club.
Ashley David Hallam made global headlines last year when video of his alleged sex act appeared on social media and quickly went viral under the tag ‘Tassie Trout Lady’.
After an international outcry, the 55-year-old was charged with a raft of bestiality offences, along with his 58-year-old co-accused, Catherine June Lee.
Police allege the vision shows Lee – a trained vet clinic worker – lying on her back on a boat as Hallam films himself performing the sex act on her with the live fish.
‘That’s how you catch a trout,’ a man can be heard saying in the vulgar footage.
The confronting vision has sparked outrage among Tasmania’s game-fishing community which has moved to distance itself from the accused couple.
Family friends told Daily Mail Australia that Hallam’s father, David, a highly regarded local angler, was horrified to learn of the allegations in the months before his death.
Ashley Hallam, 55, has been disowned by the legendary Tuna Club of Tasmania just months after it paid tribute to his family’s long-history with the iconic fishing institution
Ashley Hallam’s father, David, was once president of the family-orientated fishing club
Just months ago, the Tuna Club of Tasmania paid tribute to the family’s distinguished connection to the club, where his father had once been president.
But this week the ‘family-orientated club’ vehemently denied any current link with the accused angler or his partner.
‘Ashley Hallam and Catherine Lee have absolutely no involvement in the club and are not members,’ a Tuna Club of Tasmania spokesman told Daily Mail Australia.
‘And they haven’t had any involvement with the club for at least the past three decades.’
The club’s outburst comes just six months after it had hailed the Hallam family’s involvement ahead of a memorial service for his late father on January 18.
‘On behalf of the President and Members, the Tuna Club of Tasmania extends our condolences to the family of David Hallam,’ the club said in an announcement on its official Facebook page before the ceremony.
‘David was a past President and extremely active competitor with the [Tuna Club of Tasmania] over many years.
‘During this time he passionately participated in club competition with his family Rebecca and Ashley.
‘The Hallam family’s record of success is a stand out in our club’s deep history.’
The public spurning comes after Lee’s former vet clinic employer also took steps to distance itself from the alleged fish molesters after the sick vision first went viral last January.
‘Dear valued clients, pets and supporters of Kingston Animal Hospital,’ the clinic’s owner, Dr Chris Lee, told clients in an online announcement.
Hallam and Lee have both been charged with a series of bestiality offences
‘It has come to my recent attention that an ex-employee of the hospital has recently been the subject of attention by [allegedly] appearing in a video that has been widely circulated on social media.
‘Please understand that this person is no longer a paid employee, has not worked at Kingston Animal Hospital for over 5 years, and over 10 years ago as a full-time employee.
‘I would like to apologise for the distress this matter may have caused you.’
Hallam and Lee fronted Hobart Magistrates Court again last week, 18 months after they were arrested and charged with a series of bestiality offences last February
Lee appeared on Monday, facing two counts of making or reproducing a bestiality product between between February 2022 and January 25, 2023, and another of possessing it.
Dressed in a black suit for the appearance, the 58-year-old, from the Hobart suburb of Howden, requested an adjournment without entering a plea.
Hallam, from Dolphin Sands in the island state’s south-east, appeared on Tuesday facing two charges of making or reproducing a bestiality product and three counts of possessing a bestiality product in the same time-frame.
The prize-winning angler, who was once a regular feature in local Tasmanian fishing columns and blogs, also requested an adjournment without entering a plea.
Both requests were granted with the couple scheduled to appear again on October 25.
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