Musician and his son plead guilty to battery
British rock star Sir Rod Stewart and his son, Sean Stewart, have pleaded guilty to battery over a New Year’s Eve incident at a Palm Beach hotel in Florida but will avoid any punishment.
The Stewarts were accused of a physical altercation with security guard Jessie Dixon at the exclusive Breakers Hotel on December 31, 2019. Court documents state that the incident was prompted by the refusal of hotel staff to let children from the Stewarts party into a private event.
According to Daily Mail, which has obtained hotel surveillance footage, Stewart, besides punching the guard, “even performed what appeared to be a Hitler salute with his right arm extended above his head while fingers of his left hand made a Hitler-style mustache.”
The 76-year-old singer, who was knighted by the Duke of Cambridge on behalf of the Queen in 2016, later apologized for his behavior.
Stewart’s lawyer, Guy Fronstin explained in a statement to Boca News Now that his client chose to plead guilty to avoid the “unnecessary burden on the court and the public that a high profile proceeding would cause.”
As no one was injured during the incident, “Sir Rod Stewart was not convicted, nor sentenced to jail, or placed on probation,” the lawyer said.
The plea agreement was signed on Monday, December 13.
Dixon agreed with the outcome, a spokesperson for Palm Beach State Attorney Dave Aronberg confirmed in an email, as reported by Daily Mail.
