“Actor and director Mel Gibson has pleaded no contest to a “misdemeanour” battery charge after a fight with then-girlfriend Oksana Grigorieva in 2010. Gibson, 55, was placed on probation for 36 months and ordered to attend a year of domestic violence counselling. The complaint accuses Gibson of “wilfully and unlawfully” using force and violence against Ms Grigorieva. A misdemeanour charge is generally considered a lesser criminal act than a felony charge in the US”. – BBC News

Photo: Actor Mel Gibson appears at the Los Angeles Courthouse Airport branch on March 11, 2011 in Los Angeles, California. Gibson entered a plea of no contest to a charge of misdemeanor battery against ex-girlfriend Oksana Grigorieva and was placed on probation. (Photo by Mark Boster-Pool/Getty Images)

Actor Mel Gibson enter the Los Angeles Courthouse Airport branch on March 11, 2011 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Frederick M. Brown/Getty Images)

Actor Mel Gibson (R) and Oksana Grigorieva attend The Hollywood Reporter's and the Mayor of Los Angeles' Oscar Nominees' Night presented by Bing and MSN at The Getty House on March 4, 2010 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Angela Weiss/Getty Images)

Actor Mel Gibson (R) and Oksana Grigorieva arrive at the screening 20th Century Fox's “X-Men Origins: Wolverine” at the Chinese Theater on April 28, 2009 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Kevin Winter/Getty Images)

Oksana Grigorieva arrives at the premiere Of Warner Bros. “The Edge Of Darkness” held at Grauman's Chinese Theatre on January 26, 2010 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Kevin Winter/Getty Images)