Mel Gibson escapes jail at domestic abuse hearing

The actor Mel Gibson walked away from a Los Angeles court a free man yesterday, a year after his Russian girlfriend Oksana Grigorieva claimed the actor punched her and threatened her with a gun, even while she held their baby daughter, Lucia, in her arms.

It was following this alleged assault that the notorious tape recordings surfaced on Radar Online, in which Gibson could be heard telling Grigorieva she "deserved" the assault which left her with two broken teeth and a black eye.

At one point in the tapes, Gibson screams: "I'll put you in a fuckin' rose garden you cunt! You understand that? Because I'm capable of it. You understand that?"

Elsewhere, he can be heard telling her: "You need a fucking bat in the side of the head".

Yesterday's court case has done nothing to dispel the notion that rich and powerful celebrities can inevitably find their way through the judicial system in California.

Gibson, 55, was allowed a plea bargain in order to reduce the potential trauma for Grigorieva and Lucia of a long drawn-out trial, complete with the media attention his fame would bring.

The actor was able to escape a custodial sentence by pleading 'no contest' to the charge of misdemeanour battery. He did not even have to acknowledge publicly that he had done anything wrong.

This was because his lawyer made use of a so-called 'West plea', a Californian invention dating back to 1997 which "does not constitute an express admission of guilt but only a consent to be punished as if guilty".

The big advantage of a 'West plea' is that while it has the same effect as a guilty plea in a criminal court, it cannot be used by the victim in a follow-up civil case. Given the long-running legal battle with Grigorieva over custody and child support for Lucia, this could save Gibson considerable aggravation.

As a result of the plea bargain, Judge Stephanie Sautner sentenced the actor to 16 hours' community service, which he intends to fulfill by working for Mending Kids International, a Hollywood medical charity in which his estranged wife Robyn is involved.

The judge also put Gibson on probation for three years and ordered him to stay away from Grigorieva, adding: "You are not to use violence or threaten anyone."

Asked by the judge whether he understood clearly the terms of the arrangement, Gibson responded: "I have a good grasp of everything my attorney has discussed with me."

Shortly afterwards, pursued by court reporters and paparazzi, the one-time star of Mad Max, Lethal Weapon and What Women Want (no comment) was whisked away in an SUV, accompanied by his publicist and his ever-resourceful lawyer. ·