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. The incident took place at a nightclub during the Sundance Film Festival. Hirsh will serve 15 days behind bars.
The Into the Wild star returned to court in Utah on Monday facing felony and misdemeanor charges resulting from a violent and drunken altercation in TAO nightclub. He put the female Paramount executive in a chokehold after apparently refusing his advances. Bernfeld also told Police Hirsch dragged her across a table and body slammed her to the floor. He cut a "resolution" and pleaded guilty to misdemeanor assault.
The 30-year-old will spend 15 days in jail, starting today, pay a $4,750 fine and perform 50 hours of community service, according to the Associate Press. The charge will be dropped once the sentence has been completely served. The initial third-degree felony charge could have placed Hirsch behind bars for up to five years and a $5,000 fine under Utah law while the intoxication misdemeanor could have resulted in 90 days in jail and and a $750 fine.
"Mr. Hirsch did something inexcusable," said Deputy County Attorney Ryan Stack today after Hirsch announced his plea and the deal was revealed. Hirsch issued an apology to Bernfeld and addressed the court about his actions, calling his behavior "reckless" and "wrong." Bernfeld was not pleased with his sentence or his public statement. 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.
"It took two people to pull him off me, and if not for their intervention, the attack would have continued," said Bernfeld in a statement. "I thought I was going to die. If a violent attack in front of a roomful of witnesses can be labeled a misdemeanor and dismissed, what of women who are assaulted while alone in hallways or bathrooms, or behind the closed doors of their own homes?"
Hirsch was noted as being highly intoxicated on the scene and reported to rehab within days of the violent incident, according to his attorneys. Hirsch didn't have any memory of the night.
