American singer Chris Brown has avoided jail after being sentenced by a UK court on Monday after pleading guilty to a public order offence during a 2023 brawl at a London nightclub.
The singer was handed an eight-month jail sentence suspended for a year, meaning he will not be imprisoned unless he commits another offence during the period.
Brown, 37, who was wearing a black face mask and black cap when he arrived Monday at Southwark Crown Court in London, had admitted to affray during an appearance in July.
“Violence of this kind in a crowded nightclub is serious. It creates an obvious risk, not merely to the person against whom it is directed, but also to others,” judge Tony Baumgartner said, handing down the sentence.
Prosecutors had accused him and co-defendant Omololu Akinlolu, also a US national, of carrying out “a vicious and unprovoked attack” in a crowded nightclub “where Brown used a glass bottle as a weapon to strike the victim’s head twice”.
The guilty plea avoided a trial on several other charges, including attempting to cause grievous bodily harm with intent and possession of an offensive weapon, namely a bottle. Brown had earlier denied those charges.
All of the allegations relate to an incident at Tape, a private members’ club in central London, on February 19, 2023, while Brown was touring the UK.
The victim was struck several times with a bottle before being pursued, punched and kicked.