Update: Mel Gibson Accepts Plea Deal in Domestic Violence Case; Won't Get Jail Time

The Los Angeles District Attorney will file one count of domestic violence against actor Mel Gibson for allegedly assaulting Oksana Grigorieva, his ex-girlfriend and the mother of their seventeen-month old daughter, Lucia.

Mel Gibson has agreed to plead no contest to one misdemeanor charge of domestic violence. In exchange, he will not face jail time for allegedly punching Oksana in the face, threatening her with a gun, and screaming at her during an argument in their Malibu home last year. Instead, he will likely be placed on probation, and be ordered to attend counseling and perform community service.

A plea of no contest is similar to a guilty plea. By entering this plea, Mel will essentially concede that Oksana's accusation against him is true, without admitting or disputing his guilt, and without offering a defense.

Mel is expected to formally plead to the charge on March 11, 2011.

Mel's legal woes began last summer. Oksana had accused Mel of punching her - twice - in the face during a heated argument in their Malibu home on January 6, 2010, breaking a tooth and a veneer in the process. Mel also allegedly threatened her with a gun during the argument.

The Los Angeles Sheriff's Department opened an investigation into Oksana's accusations in August 2010, and turned over the results of that probe to the District Attorney in February 2011.

Mel's attorney, Blair Berk, released a statement on Mel's behalf, in which she said that Mel wants a "quick resolution to the case for the sake of his children.

"Mel's priority throughout all of this has been that the best interests of his young daughter, Lucia, and the rest of his children be put first in any decisions made. It is with only that in mind that he asked me to approach the district attorney with a proposal that would bring all of this to an immediate end," Berk said.

Oksana Won't Face Extortion Charges

In a related case, the Los Angeles District Attorney has decided it's not going to charge Oksana Grigorieva with attempting to extort $15 million from Mel Gibson last summer.

Mel had accused his ex-girlfriend of reneging on a $15 million settlement in their custody battle over their daughter Lucia, and then publicly releasing a series of profanity-laced tape recordings of phone conversations between Mel and her. At one point, Mel can be heard telling Oksana: "You...deserved it."

At the same time it was investigating Mel for domestic violence, the Sheriff's Department opened a probe into the extortion accusation against Oksana. Results of that investigation were turned over to the District Attorney at the same time as the report on the Mel's domestic battery case.

But the DA has reportedly declined to prosecute Oksana, saying that there was insufficient evidence to indicate a crime had been committed.

SOURCES: Embedded in Article