June 22, 2009 23:20

Chris Brown pleads guilty to assault charges

Pop star must stay away from Rihanna

Chris Brown has reached an agreement to plead guilty to charges of assaulting Rihanna.

Just before a preliminary hearing in the case was scheduled to begin in Los Angeles today (June 22), Brown reportedly struck a deal with prosecutors that will require him to do six months of "community labour" and serve five years' probation.

By doing so, the 20-year-old singer will avoid serving jail time and was able to prevent the hearing from going forward. Brown's ex-girlfriend, Rihanna, was expected to testify at the hearing about what happened the night before the Grammy Awards in February. Police records indicate that Brown beat and threatened the 21-year-old singer while they sat in a car after they left a pre-Grammy party.

LA County Superior Court Judge Patricia Schnegg also ordered Brown to stay at least 50 yards away from Rihanna for the next five years, except during industry events when he must maintain a distance of at lease 10 yards, reports the Los Angeles Times.

Brown is expected to do community service such as picking up trash and removing graffiti. The judge commended him for "taking responsibility" for his conduct, and said that Brown will be able to serve out his sentence in Virginia, where he owns a home, rather than in Los Angeles, where the incident occurred.

Rihanna was present when the terms of the protective order were read. Afterwards, she thanked the judge. Her lawyer told reporters that she did not object to the terms of the deal.

--By our Los Angeles staff.
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