Christian Slater rejects groping plea deal

NEW YORK - Actor Christian Slater has turned down a plea deal offered by prosecutors of three days of community service if he pleaded guilty to charges of groping a woman.

Slater's attorney, Eric Franz, told Manhattan Criminal Court Judge Richard Weinberg that his client rejected the plea deal and that the case "warrants dismissal." The lawyer said he planned to investigate the case.

Slater, 35, is charged with sexual abuse and forcibly touching a woman's buttocks, both misdemeanors. If convicted of the charges, he could face up to one year in jail.

The actor, who appeared in "Heathers," "True Romance," and "Untamed Heart," has had several brushes with the law, among them a 1997 arrest for assaulting his girlfriend during a fight and assaulting a police officer. In 1994, the New York native was arrested for bringing a gun on an airplane.

Prosecutors say Slater accosted a 52-year-old woman in May at a convenience store at around 2 am in Manhattan's Upper East Side. Local media reported that Slater, who was appearing on Broadway in "The Glass Menagerie," appeared intoxicated.

The next court appearance is set for September 19. Slater's lawyer sought to delay it because the actor is scheduled to appear in a London stage production of "Sweet Bird of Youth" but the judge turned down the request.

Wearing a dark brown pinstripe suit and blue polka dot tie, Slater was mobbed by media as he left the court and stopped to talk with fans and sign autographs.

- REUTERS/VNU