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Naomi due in court
15/11/2006 07:08 - (SA)
New York - Supermodel Naomi Campbell is due in court in New York on Wednesday to face assault charges over an incident earlier this year in which she allegedly threw a cellphone at her housekeeper.
Campbell's lawyer said there would be no repeat of her last scheduled court appearance in September, at which the model failed to show up in circumstances that remain unclear.
"There's no question about that in my mind," David Breitbart told AFP.
Campbell pleaded not guilty at a preliminary hearing in June, when the judge granted both sides more time to reach a deal or, failing agreement, allow for the convening of a grand jury to determine the final charge against Campbell.
If the case goes to trial, the British supermodel faces a possible seven-year jail term on the current charge of second-degree assault.
Campbell, 36, was arrested by New York police in March after her maid, Ana Scolavino, accused the supermodel of throwing a cellphone at her head and accusing her of stealing a pair of jeans.
Police said the wound required several stitches.
Another former employee, Gaby Gibson, has filed a separate lawsuit, accusing Campbell of personal injury, employment discrimination and assault.
Campbell was arrested in London last month over further assault allegations.
The Sun tabloid reported the catwalk star was arrested for allegedly scratching her drugs counsellor all over her face, citing an unnamed source.
In 2000, she pleaded guilty in a Canadian court to assaulting another assistant, Georgina Galanis, while shooting a movie two years earlier.
Galanis had accused the model of grabbing her by the throat and hitting her on the head, also with a telephone.
Campbell shot to fame after being scouted by the Elite modelling agency in London when she was just 15.
She was the first black model to appear on the covers of Time magazine and the French and British editions of Vogue.
- AFP
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South Africa
