14 DAY TRIAL // Following many months of court hearings and discussions behind closed doors, things are finally looking up for Mel Gibson in the case of domestic violence against ex Oksana Grigorieva. The actor has copped a plea and will not be doing any jail time.
Gibson made headlines around the world last year after a series of audio recordings came out, in which he was insulting and threatening his then-girlfriend and mother of his child, Oksana.
Even more serious allegations were made afterwards, with Oksana claiming her relationship with Gibson included a history of abuse, both physical and verbal, with the most violent episode also ending the romance.
It was for it too that he was standing trial, with various voices saying online that he couldn’t possibly get out of it without at least a few days in jail for spousal abuse.
As it turns out, he can: Mel agreed to plead no contest to a simple battery charge (a misdemeanor), which means he’ll walk without jail time, TMZ reports.
According to the celebrity e-zine / paparazzi agency, the only reason Gibson chose to strike a deal with the DA is because he no longer wants his family exposed in the media – even though he firmly believes he’d win the case against Oksana.
In other words, he did it to “protect his loved ones,” TMZ claims, which is also what his attorney says in a statement released to the same media outlet.
“I know from almost 20 years as a criminal defense lawyer that sometimes justice can come for a client at too high a personal price. That is particularly so for Mel, whose right to due process can only be exercised in this case with an enormous media circus attached,” Blair Berk says.
“Mel’s priority throughout all of this has been that the best interests of his young daughter Lucia and the rest of his children be put first in any decisions made. It is with only that in mind that he asked me to approach the District Attorney with a proposal that would bring all of this to an immediate end,” the attorney adds.