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Naomi faces arrest
28/09/2006 07:04 - (SA)
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| Naomi's a no-show. (AP File) |
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New York - Supermodel Naomi Campbell
failed to show up in court on Wednesday on charges of attacking
her housekeeper and the judge said he would order her arrest if
she didn't make it for her next court date.
Campbell, 36, faces charges of second-degree assault and
could be jailed for up to seven years if convicted.
New York prosecutors say she threw a cellphone at her
housekeeper, Ana Scolavino, hitting her on the back of the
head, and the woman needed four stitches to close the wound.
"She is absolutely obligated to appear at the next court
date or the law will go into effect. A bench warrant will be
issued," an annoyed Judge James Gibbons of the Manhattan
Criminal Court told defence attorney David Breitbart in
adjourning the case to November 15.
The lawyer had wanted to explain Campbell's absence to the
judge privately, but Gibbons denied the request and insisted he
speak on the record.
"The press is all over this girl. There are over 100
cameramen outside this courthouse," Breitbart protested.
Lingering resentment
But Gibbons abruptly cut him off saying, "They have a right
to be here."
Then turning to the prosecutor, he asked incredulously,
"The defendant failed to appear today and you are not asking
for a bench warrant?"
"Yes," replied assistant district attorney Christian Browne
who told the judge that a possible plea deal was still being
worked out.
Outside the courtroom, Breitbart refused to elaborate on
why Campbell was not in court, saying "She has a right to
privacy."
Two other employees have sued Campbell this year claiming
they were assaulted by the model.
In 2000, she pleaded guilty in a Canadian court for
assaulting another former assistant with a telephone. In that
case she paid the assistant an undisclosed amount of money and
attended anger management classes.
She has blamed her hot temper on lingering resentment
toward her father for abandoning her as a child.
- Reuters
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