Britney Spears Assault Case: Here's Where Things Stand

In the midst of her massive fight against the current status of her conservatorship, Britney Spears is facing a smaller-scale legal issue with a former housekeeper. The incident arose after a verbal altercation with the housekeeper over the health of Spears' two dogs, who were recently removed from her home. TMZ reports that as of Friday, the assault charges that the housekeeper filed against Spears — she claims that the singer struck her arm, Spears maintains that she merely swatted her phone out of her hand — are being examined by prosecutors who will decide if Spears will face criminal charges.

TMZ reports that "the Ventura County Sheriff's Dept.'s wrapped up its investigation into Britney's housekeeper's claim of battery from last week and forwarded its findings to the Ventura County District Attorney's Office Friday." Law enforcement explained that they often send cases over to the D.A. for review when there are such conflicting reports. A source from the sheriff's department also revealed that the housekeeper had suffered no physical injuries after the dispute.

The issues began when one of Spears' dogs got sick, leading the sitter to believe that Spears was a neglectful pet owner. Spears' two dogs were consequently removed from her home after a vet visit without her approval. A source told Page Six that Spears "adores her dogs and would never mistreat them." This is not the first time that the dogs have been taken away from Spears as she fights to end her restrictive conservatorship.

Spears was so distraught at the latest disappearance of her dogs that she called the police on Aug. 10, but when the Ventura County police arrived at her home, they were told by her security team that she no longer wished to file a police report. On Aug. 16, Spears' housekeeper showed a picture of one of the dogs looking ill to Spears, which the "Toxic" singer suspected she had sent to her father, Jamie Spears, as proof of neglect. This incident prompted Spears to swipe the phone from her housekeeper's hand, and the employee ended up filing a police report. Spears is now under investigation for misdemeanor battery.

Britney's attorney, Mathew Rosengart, sent a statement regarding the issue to NBC News calling the incident "nothing more than an overblown alleged misdemeanor involving a 'he said she said' about a cell phone, with no striking and obviously no injury whatsoever," he wrote. "Anyone can make an accusation. This should have been closed immediately." Spears' dogs have since been returned to her care.