Actor Emile Hirsch will serve 15 days behind bars after pleading guilty to an assault charge relating to a drunken altercation at a Sundance Film Festival party in Utah in January.
The Into the Wild star was charged with third degree felony aggravated assault and misdemeanour intoxication after he reportedly attacked Paramount Pictures executive Daniele Bernfeld at the event.
He subsequently confessed he had no recollection of the incident, and checked into a rehabilitation facility in February to deal with his alcohol issues.
Hirsch has since struck a plea deal with prosecutors, who agreed to downgrade the charge to misdemeanour assault in exchange for the jail term.
The actor pleaded guilty to the count in court on Monday, when he was also ordered to pay a fine of US$4750 and complete 50 hours of community service.
The charge will be dismissed from his record once he fulfils the punishment.
At the hearing, Summit County Attorney Robert Hilder noted that Hirsch has been sober since the incident and has expressed his remorse. It was also revealed that Hirsh had taken some medication on the night of the party, which may have mixed with the alcohol and caused him memory issues.
An angry Bernfeld has expressed her dissatisfaction at the news of the plea deal, insisting she is still suffering from issues resulting from the violent attack.
A statement issued via her attorney to the Associated Press reads: "It took two people to pull him off me, and if not for their intervention, the attack would have continued. I thought I was going to die.
"If a violent attack in front of a roomful of witnesses can be labeled a misdemeanor and dismissed, what of women who are assaulted while alone in hallways or bathrooms, or behind the closed doors of their own homes?"
Hirsch originally faced up to five years behind bars and a US$5000 fine for the felony charge, while the misdemeanour carried a sentence of up to 90 days in jail and a US$750 fine.
WENN.com
