Swans youngster Elijah Taylor pleads guilty to assaulting ex-girlfriend
Sydney Swans youngster Elijah Taylor has pleaded guilty to assaulting his 18-year-old ex-girlfriend Lekahni Pearce in a hotel room in Perth's CBD.
Taylor was arrested on Sunday, September 13, and spent more than five hours with detectives at Cannington Police Station before being released that night.
The Swans stood down Taylor from all club duties, a day after he was charged with aggravated assault.
Taylor pleaded guilty to the charge in Perth Magistrates Court on Wednesday morning.
Taylor had already been suspended for the rest of the AFL season for his quarantine breach last month and had not been training with the rest of his teammates for several weeks.
The decision to stand Taylor down followed his failure to obey a series of club directives after the quarantine breach and an allegation from his former partner on social media that surfaced on September 5. It was not only due to the charge by WA Police.
Elijah Taylor after Sydney's round eight win over Hawthorn.Credit:Getty Images
Heather McNeill is a senior journalist at WAtoday.