Actor Emile Hirsch pled guilty on Monday (August 17) in Salt Lake City, UT to the January 25 assault of female Paramount Digital VP, Daniele Bernfeld.
Advertisement
Hirsch was sentenced to 15 days in jail, ordered to pay a $4,750 fine and will have to complete 50 hours of community service to get the charge dismissed.
The charge against him will be dismissed following the completion of his sentence.
Hirsch’s lawyer, meanwhile, claimed that the Encino, Calif., native, had “consumed an enormous amount of alcohol on the evening in question and he has no memory of what happened.” Hirsch subsequently checked into an alcohol rehab facility in February.
Emile, 30, apologised for his actions and said there was “no excuse”.
A writer for The Daily Beast published a story in which he said he did not see the alleged incident, but wrote that he saw “Hirsch was wasted, and his balance seemed way off.”
A short time later, he put her in a chokehold and pulled her over a table and onto the floor, landing on top of her with his hands around her neck, the documents showed. She’s previously said the attack was “insanely painful and absolutely terrifying”, and that she feared she might die during it. If the case had gone to trial, the actor faced a maximum five years in jail for the third-degree felony assault and an additional 90 for a misdemeanor intoxication charge. A statement from Bernfeld, who believes Hirsch should have received a stricter punishment because she feared for her life, was also read in the courtroom. “I think she had a go at me and I probably defended myself”. While the Park City Police Department treated me with courtesy and respect, this plea deal meets the bare minimum required to placate the regulations of our legal system. I don’t think it was much more than that to be honest….
Advertisement
He was at Sundance for the premiere of the drama Ten Thousand Saints, in which he appears alongside Ethan Hawke and Asa Butterfield.
