Hayden Panettiere’s ex-boyfriend Brian Hickerson begins jail sentence in domestic violence case
Brian Hickerson, the ex-boyfriend of Hayden Panettiere, is serving his jail sentence in his domestic violence case involving the Nashville and Heroes star.
Hickerson, 32, was handed a 45-day sentence on April 20 after he pleaded no contest to two felony counts of injuring a spouse/cohabitant/girlfriend/child's parent. According to court records, he began serving his sentence on May 7 and is set to serve 12 days, due to time served and other factors, in Men's Central Jail in Los Angeles.
His expected release date is May 19.
The public information officer for the Los Angeles Sheriff's Department said no booking photo will be released publicly.
In addition to the jail time, the aspiring actor — who started dating Panettiere in 2018 after her split from fiancé Wladimir Klitschko — will be on formal probation for four years. He also has to take 52 domestic violence classes and pay $500 in restitution. He'll have a progress report hearing at Clara Shortridge Foltz Criminal Justice Center in L.A. on Oct. 22 to update the court on what he's completed.
Hickerson is also under a five-year protective order, preventing him from any contact with the star.
Last July, Hickerson initially pleaded not guilty to eight counts of domestic violence and assault. There were four felony counts of a spouse/cohabitant/girlfriend/child's parent, one misdemeanor count of battery, two felony counts of assault with a deadly weapon and one felony count of dissuading a witness from prosecuting a crime.
All of the charges were allegedly committed against 31-year-old Panettiere. The assault allegedly occurred between May 2019 and January 2020. The additional charge of dissuading a witness resulted from Hickerson allegedly attempted to dissuade Panettiere from filing charges against him. At that time, she was first granted a restraining order against him.
This is the end of a long period of turmoil for the exes. Hickerson was first booked for alleged felony domestic violence in May 2019 after an alleged altercation with the actress. In September of that year, his case was reportedly dismissed after the couple reportedly reunited.
He was arrested again in February 2020 in Wyoming for domestic battery after he allegedly punched her on Valentine's Day. He pleaded not guilty to one count of domestic battery that April.
Additionally, soon after they started dating, police were called to Hickerson's father’s home in South Carolina in 2018 over a drunken altercation. The dispute was reportedly between father and son with Panettiere opening the door for police.
Last year, when the charges were filed against Hickerson in this case, Panettiere — who shares a daughter with Klitschko — said it was her hope that the truth coming out would "empower others in abusive relationships to get the help they need and deserve."
She's hasn't publicly commented on Hickerson's incarceration.
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