Ex-husband of Mark Latham's former porn star lover has major legal win and hits out at police after being dragged into sordid saga
Ross Matthews complained he was not even interviewed by police before they accused him of waging a campaign of harassment against his ex-wife Nathalie Matthews.
The ex-husband of NSW Independent MP Mark Latham's porn star former partner has been cleared of a criminal charge he said should never have been laid.
Ross Matthews has complained he was not even interviewed by police before they accused him of waging a campaign of harassment against his ex-wife Nathalie Matthews.
Mr Matthews was charged in July with using a carriage service to menace, harass or offend Ms Matthews with phone calls and emails between April 1 and June 2.
The starting date of that alleged conduct coincided with the first listing of a case Mr Matthews had brought against his ex-wife in the equity division of the NSW Supreme Court.
Mr Matthews pleaded not guilty to the harassment charge when it was first mentioned at Sydney's Downing Centre Local Court.
Solicitor Alen Sahinovic had indicated his client would be producing independent phone records in his defence and the matter was set for hearing on December 19.
On that day, police withdrew the charge and an accompanying application for an apprehended violence order to protect Ms Matthews.
Mr Matthews said police had offered to drop the charge if he accepted the AVO but he had refused and both matters were subsequently withdrawn.
The ex-husband of NSW Independent MP Mark Latham's porn star former partner Nathalie Matthews (above) has been cleared of a criminal charge he said should never have been laid
Ross Matthews was cleared of using a carriage service to menace, harass or offend Nathalie Matthews. Ross and Nathalie Matthews are pictured on their wedding day
He told the Daily Mail he had given police much of the evidence he was going to use in his defence and asked if they would be taking any action against Ms Matthews.
'I am glad that upon reviewing the evidence, the prosecutor instantly dropped the charges and withdrew the AVO,' the 35-year-old said on Sunday.
'However, that evidence was all available when NSW police charged me. Had they bothered to interview me, I would have provided them this.
'Unfortunately, police all too often take the attitude that it's up to the courts to work out the facts of the case and are far too quick to charge.
'Even when found not guilty, the process itself is a punishment but I am glad the prosecutor came to the right decision here.'
A NSW Police spokesman said the force does not 'provide comment on court results, withdrawal of proceedings or costs awarded'.
The harassment allegation against Mr Matthews came a week after he insisted he no longer had anything to do with his former wife since their split more than three years ago.