Mel Gibson, the famous American actor, producer, and director, pleaded guilty to a charge of misdemeanor battery against his ex-girlfriend and the mother of his 1-year-old daughter, Oksana Grigorieva.

He avoided jail time with a plea deal and was sentenced to 36 months of informal probation, a year of domestic violence counseling, community service, and $570 in fines.

The charges against him came from a January 2010 fight he had with Grigorieva.

Prosecutors also ruled out charging Grigorieva with extortion, as there was insufficient evidence.

Mel Gibson had accused her of extortion after multiple recordings of him yelling at her leaked online.

In those recordings, Grigorieva accused Gibson of hitting her and their daughter, punching her in the mouth and breaking her teeth, and verbally berating her during numerous phone calls.

Legal experts have noted that receiving a milder punishment with a plea deal is normal, and Gibson likely wanted to avoid going to trial.

Family law attorney Gloria Allred said that given Grigorieva’s testimony and Gibson’s admission that he hit her, Gibson would be convicted with a minimum of misdemeanor battery and a maximum of felony battery.

Gibson’s decision not to go to trial was also likely influenced by his upcoming movie, “The Beaver,” set to be released in May.

He would have had a hard time promoting it while in the midst of a very public trial.

Family law attorney Debra Opri said that Gibson’s plea deal was typical since he had no prior battery charge and had his ex-wife come out to say that he was never violent during their 26 years of marriage.

Gloria Allred, on the other hand, feels that the punishment does not fit the alleged crime.

She said that she is disgusted with the system where first-time batterers receive probation.

She believes that there is a potential risk of harm and that for batterers who have significant anger management issues and express that in criminal conduct, more than just probation and counseling is necessary.

In summary, Mel Gibson pleaded guilty to a charge of misdemeanor battery against Oksana Grigorieva, his ex-girlfriend and the mother of his 1-year-old daughter.

He avoided jail time with a plea deal and was sentenced to informal probation, counseling, community service, and $570 in fines.

The charges stemmed from a January 2010 fight he had with Grigorieva.

Prosecutors ruled out charging Grigorieva with extortion due to insufficient evidence.

Legal experts noted that receiving a milder punishment with a plea deal is normal, and Gibson likely wanted to avoid going to trial.

Gibson’s decision not to go to trial was also likely influenced by his upcoming movie, “The Beaver,” set to be released in May.

Gloria Allred believes that probation and counseling are not enough for first-time batterers who have significant anger management issues.