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Mel Gibson donned a suit - but ditched a tie - to his courthouse hearing in L.A. on March 11.LOS ANGELES - Mel Gibson copped a no-jail plea in his domestic violence case Friday - and didn't even have to admit he hit his ex-lover in a blow-up last year.
Gibson, 55, pleaded no contest to misdemeanor battery and received three years probation, a year of mandatory counseling, 16 hours of community service and fines.
"The District Attorney's office in this case has agreed that resolving this matter does not require that Mr. Gibson say he's guilty but may maintain his innocence...and does so now," defense lawyer Blair Berk told the judge.
"He's entering this plea because it's in the best interest of his children."
Gibson rolled his eyes during the proceeding.
"We [offered the deal] in order to lessen the trauma and impact of any other proceedings on the victim," Deputy District Attorney Simone Shay told the judge.
"There would have been a minor required to testify in the case, and it's always traumatic for a minor to have to go through a court testimony," Deputy District Attorney John Lynch said outside court, referring to victim Oksana Grigorieva's teen son, a witness to the January 2010 fight at Gibson's Malibu home.
"And the bottom line is that had we gone through a trial, given Mr. Gibson's record, the sentence would not have been significantly different," he said.
"We got pretty much what we wanted and more importantly, we got what the victim wanted. She said on many occasions that she really didn't want to see him go to jail. What she really wanted him to do was get into counseling."
The judge told Gibson that if he violates his probation, he will face up to one year in county jail.
Gibson's latest legal battle erupted last year when Grigorieva claimed the "Braveheart" star punched her in the left temple and mouth as she held their infant daughter.
Gibson vehemently denied he ever hurt Grigorieva, but he admitted in a sworn statement that he slapped her "with an open hand" because she was allegedly shaking the baby.
In blockbuster secret recordings leaked to RadarOnline.com, Gibson purportedly told Grigorieva she "deserved" the strike - and unveiled a torrent of ugly verbal abuse.
Photos purportedly showing Grigorieva's bruised face and busted front teeth also surfaced on Radar.
Grigorieva's side said she made the recordings to help safeguard the safety of their daughter, citing her decision in May to walk away from a $15 million settlement offer.
Gibson's camp claimed she was trying to extort the actor. The Sheriff's Department investigated the extortion claim, but the District Attorney rejected the case.
"The extortion case is dead," Lynch said.
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