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An award-winning radio host and youth mental health charity founder has been charged with assaulting several teenagers and young people, according to Queensland authorities. Cody Haywood Schaeffer, an Order of Australia Medal (OAM) recipient, has been charged with five counts of common assault against four alleged victims aged from 16 to 21. A Queensland Police spokesperson confirmed a 31-year-old Grafton man was arrested on October 23, "following investigations into a series of offences that allegedly occurred between July 2021 and August 2023". Mr Schaeffer is expected to appear in the Brisbane Magistrates Court on November 12. The 31-year-old founded a youth charity in 2019 called Borderline Australia — named after its location at Cherrabah Resort, near the Queensland-New South Wales border. Borderline Australia ran camps for young people to talk about mental health, but as of October, its charity registration appears to have been voluntarily revoked. Mr Schaeffer told the ABC the charges included "stupid actions that I took in my 20's that I saw as jovial, funny or mucking around with mates", adding there was "no link between the charity and my actions". "Through personal growth and understanding I have come to see the errors in my decisions, mistakes made [and] the severity of my actions," he said. "At first understanding of these allegations over a year ago, I closed the charity and the work I was doing to give time to grow, learn and to be honest … because I knew I was not professionally, and mentally ready or mature enough to help other young people or all people in general." The charity announced last year on Instagram that it had been acquired by another organisation "to keep this incredible program running around Australia … with camps continuing in 2025." Mr Schaeffer confirmed the charity will continue without him. Mr Schaeffer's Instagram is littered with media appearances, photos of him on the red carpet at the Logies and advertisements about a recent movie and podcast. Mr Schaeffer was the youngest Australian to be awarded an Order of Australia Medal in 2023 by the Governor of Queensland for service to youth and the community of Queensland. In 2022, he was a finalist for Queensland Young Australian of the Year and was named Brisbane's 2020 Young Citizen of the Year.
