Chris Brown sentence for assault on Rihanna delayed

Superior court judge Patricia Schnegg wants to make sure Brown does not get off easy and wants him to serve his time with some manual labor.

Brown’s plea deal
Under the guidelines of the plea reached last month, instead of jail time Brown will serve five years of supervised probation, six months of community service and 52 weeks of domestic violence counseling. The judge thinks that is too light.

Brown wants to be allowed to complete his community labor in his home state of Virginia, but Schnegg wants him to remove graffiti or clear up roadside trash rather than traditional community service work such as working in churches or community centers. Brown will be required to return to California to check in after every three months.

The sentence has been delayed sentencing until Aug. 27, to get specific documents from the State of Virginia to determine if a tougher sentence of community labor can be accommodated rather than community service.

Judge Schnegg said, "We still have not received from Virginia what their community labor proposal would be, I do not favor community service, I favor something along the lines of Caltrans [freeway cleanup]."

Brown pleaded guilty
The 20-year-old pleaded guilty on June 22 of felony assault against Rihanna, which allegedly resulted from an altercation hours before the pair was due to play at the Grammy Awards.

Los Angeles police said the attack occurred in a car when Rihanna checked Brown's mobile phone and found a text message from another woman.

Brown was accused of punching and biting her, putting her in a headlock and threatening to kill her. The attack left Rihanna with heavy bruising and a "mouthful of blood," according to police reports.

At a preliminary hearing in which Rihanna was called to testify, Chris told his fans, "I saw firsthand what uncontrolled rage can do. I have sought (counseling) and am continuing to seek help to ensure that what occurred in February can never happen again."

Last month, Brown posted a video on his website in which he said he had repeatedly apologized to Rihanna for the attack and called his conduct 'inexcusable', vowing to do better.

The recommended sentence has been criticized by domestic abuse campaigners as too lenient.