‘Bike boy’ suing former premier Dan Andrews to plead guilty to burglary and theft
Erin Pearson And Eleanor Campbell
The man known as the “bike boy” who sued former prime minister Daniel Andrews after being injured in a crash as a child will plead guilty to burglary and theft.
Ryan Meuleman’s lawyer, Savannah Westwood, told the Dandenong Magistrates Court on Thursday that her client wanted to plead guilty to charges relating to an incident on January 27, but details of the allegations were not published.
The 28-year-old was expected to appear in court via video link from Marngoneet Prison, but did not attend the hearing as the hearing continued in his absence.
Westwood said his client plans to appeal against separate charges that include allegedly violating the bail rights and carjacking a woman sitting in her vehicle in Pakenham late on May 3.
No application for bail has been made, but Meuleman is expected to make a bid for freedom later this month after previously stating he wanted to be released to attend rehabilitation.
Judge Gregory McNamara ordered the defendant to return to court in September.
Meuleman launched defamation proceedings against Andrews and his wife Catherine in November last year after he was seriously injured in a collision with the Andrews family four-wheel drive vehicle in 2013.
Andrews, then opposition leader, was in the car with the couple’s three children while Catherine was in the driver’s seat.
Police cleared the duo of any wrongdoing.
More than a decade later, the couple released a joint statement in response to a report alleging authorities “attempted a secret cover-up to avoid implicating a political figure in a life-threatening accident.”
Meuleman claimed it was defamatory, claiming it implied the pair lied about the circumstances of the collision and took legal action to obtain money from false claims.
In 2024, Meuleman filed a separate lawsuit against his former attorneys, Slater & Gordon, over allegations they failed to properly investigate the incident.
Last year, Age revealed that a group of high-profile Liberal and Victorian philanthropists donated more than $230,000 to Meuleman’s legal campaign against Andrews.
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