LOS ANGELES — A judge on Tuesday sentenced Chris Brown to five years of probation and six months of community labor for the beating of Rihanna and ordered the R&B singer to stay away from his former girlfriend for the next five years.
Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Patricia Schnegg told Brown that he could be sent to state prison if he violated any terms of his sentence, including an order to stay 100 yards away from Rihanna unless they’re attending music industry events.
Brown will serve his sentence in his home state of Virginia, and his community labor will be overseen by the police chief in Richmond.
The judge said she wanted to ensure that Brown, 20, performs physical labor instead of community service, such as mentoring young people. He will also undergo a year of domestic violence counseling.
Rihanna did not attend Tuesday’s sentencing.
After Brown pleaded guilty to felony assault in June, Schnegg ordered the pair to stay away from each other and to not contact one another. Her order Tuesday essentially extended that for the next five years.
Donald Etra, Rihanna’s attorney, has said he didn’t think the strict rules were necessary, but that he and Rihanna favored a less-stringent ruling that simply ordered Brown not to annoy, harass or molest the 21-year-old pop singer. He said after Tuesday’s hearing that Rihanna did not object to to the stay-away order.
Brown was arrested Feb. 8, hours after he was accused of beating Rihanna.
The attack occurred in Los Angeles as Brown drove a rented sports car. A Los Angeles police detective described a brutal attack in a search warrant affidavit filed in the case, stating Brown hit, choked and bit Rihanna and tried at one point to push her from the car.
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