Chris Brown has avoided a jail stay after pleading guilty to assaulting ex-girlfriend Rihanna, hours before the former couple was due to meet in court in Los Angeles.
The R&B star has been ordered to serve 180 of community service in his home state of Virginia, and he has been told he must stay away from Rihanna.
He'll also serve five years of probation for felony assault, and he'll have to return to court periodically so his efforts can be monitored.
Brown will also have to enroll in a domestic violence counseling program, according to TMZ.com.
The plea deal came just after Brown and Rihanna had arrived at Los Angeles Supreme Court for a preliminary hearing into his attack on the "Umbrella" singer on the eve of the Grammy Awards in February.
Rihanna was left beaten and bruised following the fight with her ex. Reports suggested that the altercation was over correspondence Brown received from an ex-girlfriend.
Rihanna obviously expected the worst when she arrived to court, where she was due to testify -- she wore all black.
A bystander says, "It looked as if she was going to a funeral."
(c) 2009 WORLD ENTERTAINMENT NEWS NETWORK LTD. All global rights reserved. No unauthorized copying or re-distributing permitted.
MORE NEWS: Fawcett Hospitalized
Photo(s) by WENN.com- © 2009- All Rights Reserved