"Into the Wild" actor Emile Hirsch has been sentenced to only 15 days in prison for an assault case that transpired during the Sundance Film Festival in January. Hirsch sought a plea bargain by pleading guilty for the crime.
Aside from 15 days of imprisonment, Emile Hirsch has to pay a fine of $4, 750 and do 50 hours of community service as part of a plea deal with the prosecutors made on Monday, reports BBC. Hirsch pleaded guilty for assaulting Daniele Bernfeld, an executive for Insurge Pictures who was put on chokehold at a nightclub in Park City, Utah during the Sundance Film Festival last January. In her court statement, Bernfeld related that she was grabbed from her back and put on chokehold while lying on the floor with Hirsch on top of her. Hirsch was attending the premier of "Ten Thousand Saints" at the said Festival when the said accusation happened.
The plea deal also meant Hirsch was able to avoid the five-year maximum imprisonment. In addition, charges will not be seen in his records if he completes the sentence he was uttering at the time of the incident. Hirsch was said to be slurring his words while trying to balance himself after having 3 to 4 drinks when the assault took place.
Bernfeld meanwhile said that the plea was not enough since the incident has brought trauma to her until now. According to TMZ, Bernfeld thought she was going to die while she was being choked. Hirsch for his part has gone under rehabilitation after the incident. His lawyer earlier defended that he was too drunk to recall what has happened.
Vanity Fair added that Hirsch has already apologized to Bernfeld before the sentence was brought down to him. Despite this, Bernfeld believes that Hirsch may not serve jail time and that justice was not served.
Emile Hirsch starred in the true to life story "Into the Wild" by Sean Penn. The actor will appear in three more films soon.
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