Actor Emile Hirsch has been sentenced of 15 day- prison- time and a $4,750 fine together with 50 hours of community service after assaulting Paramount Digital Vice President Daniele Bernfeld in a nightclub last January 25. He is also required to join an aftercare treatment and if he fails to fulfill all the requirements, he'll be imprisoned for a year.
Hirsch's lawyers have agreed on a "resolution" with the Summit County Attorney's Office. The actor's guilty plea has made him avoid the maximum five- year jail time for his stunt. According to deadline.com, Bernfled feels that Hirsch punishment is not enough given the circumstances that she thought she's "going to die" after being held in a chokehold by the actor. However, Emile still claims that h couldn't remember anything that he had done that night for he's too intoxicated with alcohol.
In a report by vanityfair.com, Bernfled recalled the moment of Emile's assault. She said "I was subjected to a violent and unprovoked attack by a complete stranger. The defendant, Emile Hirsch, put me in a chokehold, pulled me off my feet and threw me on the floor. With the full force of his weight, he choked me until I blacked out. It took two people to pull him off me, and if not for their intervention, the attack would have continued. I thought I was going to die."
Despite of the imposed punishment, Bernfled explained that he's under punished considering the effects it had on her. She added "The long-lasting effects of this assault will remain with me. Mr. Hirsch's plea, however, provides that in 90 days his case will be dismissed without record. There is no assurance that he will serve any of the 15 days of jail time associated with his plea.
"Quite simply, this punishment does not fit the crime. 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. 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 home?
"While I appreciate that the court is trying to send a message to Mr. Hirsch, the message to him and those who may follow needs to be louder and stronger."
Emile Hirsch has already released his official "apology" for what he had done and that there's "no excuse" for his "wrong" and "reckless" behavior.
