Rod Stewart Pleads Guilty Following Violent Incident

Rod Stewart has pled guilty to battery following a 2019 incident that took place in Florida. According to the BBC, both Stewart and his son Sean were accused of assaulting a security guard after they were refused access to a private event. Since the musician entered a guilty plea, he does not have to go to court, go to jail, pay a fine, or be placed on probation. 

On New Year's Eve in 2019, Stewart and his son were denied entrance to a private event at the Breakers Palm Beach Hotel in Florida by security guard Jessie Dixon. Dixon claimed that Sean got "nose to nose" with him after he told them that they couldn't enter the event. Sean then allegedly pushed Dixon. Stewart allegedly struck the security guard "with a closed fist" in the chest. The singer claimed that after they were denied entrance into the event, Dixon became argumentative with them. This caused Stewart and his son to become "agitated," based on court documents. 

Both Stewart and his son entered guilty pleas to misdemeanor counts of "simple battery." Stewart's lawyer, Guy Fronstin, said that the singer and his son will not face jail time after pleading guilty. Additionally, they will not have to go to court, pay a fine, or go on probation. BBC noted that the judge withheld adjudication, which means that neither Stewart nor Sean have been formally charged in this case. 

"No-one was injured in the incident and a jury did not find Sir Rod Stewart guilty of the accusation," Fronstin said in a statement. "Instead, Sir Rod Stewart decided to enter a plea to avoid the inconvenience and unnecessary burden on the court and the public that a high-profile proceeding would cause." It was previously reported that Stewart was attempting to reach a plea deal in this case. They attempted to reach a plea deal with prosecutors twice before, but the hearings to finalize those deals were both canceled. The case, which faced multiple delays due to the COVID-19 pandemic, was originally set to go to trial on Jan. 25, 2022, and both Stewart and his son faced up to a year in jail had they been convicted. Of course, now that Stewart and Sean have entered guilty pleas, they will not have to face a trial.