Chris Brown will not face immediate prison time for his involvement in a “vicious and unprovoked” assault at a nightclub in London in 2023.
As reported by The Guardian, the 37-year-old singer-songwriter has been sentenced to eight months in prison, which will be suspended for 12 months. In short, this means he has avoided immediate time behind bars.
His vocal coach, Omololu Akinlolu, 40, has been sentenced to four months in prison for his involvement in the assault, with that sentence also coming with a 12-month suspension. Both men will also be required to pay £1,500 (roughly $2,000) in fines.
The sentencing comes months after Brown pleaded guilty to affray, dodging more serious charges. He was previously facing a maximum sentence of up to three years in prison for his involvement in the attack.
During the sentencing, Judge Tony Baumgartner said the assault was “plainly dangerous” and cautioned Brown that his commercial success doesn’t “attract preferential treatment.”
He added, “The repeated use of a glass bottle in that way, especially aimed at the head, was plainly dangerous. It carried the risk of delivering a more serious injury than was ultimately sustained.”
Baumgartner also said that Brown’s pre-sentence report stated his repeated offense risk as “low,” and as such, he has not been given conditions he’ll need to adhere to while the sentence is suspended.
CCTV footage of the assault showed Brown hitting Abraham Diaw with a glass bottle four times, hitting his head twice and his shoulder once. Baumgartner said that Diaw, who previously worked as a producer for Brown, needed hospital treatment after the attack because he sustained a head injury and muscular-skeletal problems.
Before the sentencing, Chris Brown was forced to cancel four dates of his R&B Tour with Usher. The October shows at M&T Bank Stadium in Baltimore, Paycor Stadium in Cincinnati, Williams-Brice Stadium in Columbia, South Carolina, and Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis were cancelled.
“Following an extensive run of sold-out stadium shows on one of the year's biggest tours, the event promoter has made the difficult decision to cancel select upcoming dates on the R&B Tour to prioritize the health and well-being of the touring party and crew,” the promoter for a show scheduled in Indianapolis explained. “The demands of a tour of this length and scale are significant, and these adjustments will allow the tour to continue safely and sustainably through the remaining scheduled performances.”
The tour is scheduled to continue next month with a string of shows at Atlanta’s Mercedes-Benz Stadium, and will conclude with a pair of shows at Tampa’s Raymond James Stadium in December.
