Justin Bieber has pleaded guilty to charges of assault and careless driving.
The 21-year-old singer was arrested last September in Ontario, Canada, after an incident involving a collision between the ATV (all terrain vehicle) he was driving, and a minivan near his hometown of Stratford.
TMZ reports Justin appeared in the courtroom via Skype from the office of lawyer Howard Weitzman on Thursday.
Seth Weinstein, another attorney for the singer, confirmed Justin had been ordered to pay a $750 fine for careless driving.
Weinstein also revealed that a charge of dangerous driving in the case had been dropped, and a sentence of absolute discharge had been granted on the assault charge. This means that no further action will be taken on the charges.
As his sentence was given, the judge told Justin: ‘The lesson in all of this is to think before you act in the future.”
Justin was with then-girlfriend Selena Gomez at the time of the crash, and his lawyer blamed the paparazzi for causing the incident.
‘Justin Bieber and Selena Gomez’s peaceful retreat in Stratford this weekend was unfortunately disrupted by the unwelcome presence of paparazzi,’ Brian Greenspan said. ‘This has regrettably resulted in charges of dangerous driving and assault. Mr. Bieber and Ms. Gomez have fully cooperated in the police investigation.’
The assault charge stems from a physical altercation between Justin and the photographer, which occurred after the fender bender.
“Investigation revealed that after colliding, the driver of the ATV and an occupant of the minivan engaged in a physical altercation,” Ontario Provincial Police spokesman Kees Wijnands stated at the time.
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