Mel Gibson Pleads No Contest to Battery Charge, Gets Probation

Mel Gibson entered a plea of no contest in his domestic violence case, and will have a three year probationary period.Mel Gibson, in the news for all the wrong reasons over the past several years, entered a plea of no contest last Friday in his domestic violence case, resulting in no jail time and no admission that he did anything wrong. The 55-year-old actor and director was facing a misdemeanor battery charge and received three years probation in return for his plea. His sentence also includes a year of mandatory counseling and 16 hours of community service, as well as some fines. Noted defense attorney Blair Berk, "The District Attorney?s office in this case has agreed that resolving this matter does not require that Mr. Gibson say he?s guilty but may maintain his innocence, and does so now."

Berk added that Gibson was "entering this plea because it?s in the best interest of his children." While Gibson was less than professional during the hearing, apparently rolling his eyes at some points, it seems he likely got off lightly for his alleged transgressions. Noted Deputy District Attorney John Lynch in describing why the plea deal was offered: "There would have been a minor required to testify in the case, and it?s always traumatic for a minor to have to go through a court testimony. And the bottom line is that had we gone through a trial, given Mr. Gibson?s record, the sentence would not have been significantly different."

Added Lynch, "We got pretty much what we wanted and more importantly, we got what the victim wanted. She said on many occasions that she really didn?t want to see him go to jail. What she really wanted him to do was get into counseling." In the event that Gibson violates the terms of his probation, he would face up to a year in a local county jail.

By Buzzle Staff and Agencies
Published: 3/14/2011Use the form below to email this article to your friends.