FALLEN AFL premiership player Ben Cousins has been freed from prison 10 months into his one-year sentence for stalking and repeatedly breaching a restraining order taken out by his ex-partner.
The former West Coast Eagles captain was jailed in March for causing “ongoing terror” to Maylea Tinecheff, with whom he has two young children.
Cousins, who has long struggled with drug addiction, was reportedly picked up by his father Bryan from Acacia Prison on Wednesday morning and taken to the family home in Bicton.
The violence restraining order breaches stemmed from Cousins visiting his children’s school and church, and calling Ms Tinecheff.
The Brownlow Medallist called her more than 2000 times between October 2016 and February 2017. In one month, he contacted her 542 times, including 103 times in one day.
When Cousins was arrested, police found eight grams of methamphetamine, which his lawyer Michael Tudori told the court at the time would only last four days.
Cousins, 39, was fined $ 2400 for drug possession and driving without a licence.
During his time behind bars, Cousins was involved in a minor scuffle but was not injured. He also failed a drug test, which delayed an earlier opportunity for parole in August, as he had to complete rehabilitation courses.
During a separate sentencing in September, a magistrate told Cousins he was lucky not to have killed or seriously injured someone when he smashed his car head-on into a truck while high on methamphetamine in November 2016. For that incident, Cousins was fined $ 1200, ordered to pay $ 2295 in chemical analysis fees and had his driver’s licence disqualified for 12 months.
Before his imprisonment, Cousins was involved in many bizarre incidences, including a spate in 2015 when he led police on a slow-speed car chase, breached security at an SAS base, drove erratically outside a Sikh temple he had just photographed, and climbed onto the roof of a two-storey home.
In 2016, he was spotted behaving erratically on a Perth highway where he appeared to be directing traffic.
Cousins played 238 games for the Eagles, but was dumped by the club at the end of 2007 when his drug abuse became apparent.
He regained his grip on life and made a successful return with Richmond in 2009, playing 32 games across two seasons before retiring at the end of 2010.
— AAP
