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Mel Gibson’s rants caught on tape, which have now been subpoenaed by the police, might be enough evidence for him to be charged for terrorist threats, mayhem, battery and hate crimes — and he could be facing more than eight years in jail, say lawyers.
Mel Gibson‘s brutal and frightening telephone rants at his now ex-girlfriend Oksana Girgorieva were caught on tape — and three lawyers tell HollywoodLife.com the 54-year-old actor could be facing serious charges — including domestic abuse, terrorism, mayhem and hate crimes, which could mean eight years or more in jail.
“It’s as serious admission of guilt as I’ve ever heard,” divorce attorney and author Vikki Ziegler told HollywoodLife.com after listening to Mel’s second rant, which leaked July 12. “In California, they could charge him as a felon, if they can prove it’s him. I think he has some major headaches — felony charges, fines, jail time, losing custody of his baby daughter, plus, of course he could also lose his gun.”
Lawyer and sexual violence expert, Wendy Murphy, agrees with Ziegler that Mel should be convicted of serious crimes.
“Oh my god. I can’t even tell you. It scares me — and I’m pretty tough,” Murphy said. “There are so many things, but not the least of which of was he basically he tore into her because she wouldn’t give him a blow job. She said, ‘I’m exhausted,’ and he freaked out.”
Not only does Mel acknowledge having punched Oksana in the face and breaking her teeth in the tape, he threatens to kill her twice and uses verbally and sexually abusive language. Because of this, all three lawyers — Ziegler, Murphy and Los Angeles-based criminal defense attorney Steve Cron — think the Braveheart actor will face major criminal charges, including, but not limited to, the following:
Criminal Threat and Battery:
“A criminal threat is basically a threat that is great enough to induce fear in the mind of the believer that there is the possibility of an imminent assault. When Oksana says, ‘You just hit me,’ that’s battery. When Mel says, ‘I’m going to bury you in the rose garden,’ that’s a criminal threat.” — Cron
Hate Crime:
“He should be charged with a hate crime for his offensive comments against women. Also, because of the hate crime’s nature, any possible misdemeanor — like battery — would automatically be charged as a felony.” — Murphy
Domestic Violence:
“He admitted clearly punching her in the mouth and in my opinion, admitted to knocking her teeth out or at least breaking them.” — Murphy
Mayhem:
“He potentially knocked out or broke her teeth, which is a very serious felony called mayhem — it carries up to eight years in state prison. It’s much more [serious] than a bar brawl or even a [typical fight].” — Murphy
Loss of Custody Of Lucia:
“He has huge problems with custody, if you commit domestic violence. Forget sole custody if there’s been domestic violence.” — Murphy
Mel’s Defense(less):
“It’s against the law to tape record somebody without their consent…unless it’s for the purpose of documenting the crime.” — Cron
“When anything’s on audio, you’re in BIG trouble. Mel’s defense team will try to mitigate the impact of the audiotapes by saying Oksana has a history with emotional issues.” — Ziegler
“Nobody in the court has much sympathy when someone has a drinking problem and they let it get the best of them, therefore if Mel’s defense is that he drank again, it won’t help his case.” — Cron
The Los Angeles Sheriff’s Dept. has launched an investigation and has issued a subpoena to obtain the audiotapes of the rants. As HollywoodLife.com first reported, The Los Angeles Department of Children and Family Services has already begun an investigation to determine whether or not either Mel and Oksana are fit parents.
– Kirstin Benson
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elizabeth
Posted at 6:48 PM on July 24, 2010
our society hates women. esp attractive women. oksana committed the cardinal sin of standing up for herself. it’s very telling that his 1st wife of 28 years WENT BACK TO HER MAIDEN NAME when he left her-she’d had enough. she was a doormat/non-entertainer who couldn’t compete with him-that’s why it lasted so long with her-she wasn’t an equal-abusers love subordinates. unlike oksana A FELLOW ENTERTAINER and CLASSICAL PIANIST. misogynists believe all women are supposed to be docile little dolls or good little girls and if they “provoke” an “argument” they “get what’s coming to them.” if they are sexually appealing and don’t appear to need a man to rely on they’re sluts. the despicable, vile, slanderous, terrorizing, hate-filled tape recordings speak for themselves. they are EVIDENCE of the crime that’s already BEEN COMMITTED (the battery) and of their own criminality (THE COMMUNICATING THREATS). i hope every single person defending this dirtbag gets verbally abused, threatened, and harassed by someone like mel so they can be on the receiving end of such hatred. maybe then you’ll grow a conscience and a brain. develop a little compasin for the person who is TRULY THE VICTIM–OKSANA-NOT MEL! james brown was right-this really is a man’s world.