Chris Brown will undergo 52 hours of domestic-violence counseling with Commonwealth Catholic Charities in Richmond as part of his court-imposed punishment for beating ex-girlfriend Rihanna.
"Commonwealth Catholic Charities has been working with Brown's attorney to ensure that the service being provided by the agency meet court and probation officer approval," the group's executive director, Joanne Nattrass, said in a statement yesterday.
It was unclear when Brown's treatment will begin. "I don't believe all of that is worked out," Nattrass said in a brief phone interview.
She declined to provide specifics about the program or say whether Brown would be required to pay for the counseling sessions. "The work that we do with clients is strictly confidential," she said. " Our policy and practice is not to release information about individual clients."
According to the group's Web site, the organization's 24-week Batterer's Intervention Program provides educational group sessions for people who are physically, mentally, emotionally or sexually abusive in their relationships.
The program "frequently tests and challenges each group member's behavior," the Web site says. "Progress is made only if the abuser is self-accountable for all behaviors, and develops the flexibility to make behavioral changes."
A Los Angeles Superior Court judge on Tuesday sentenced Brown to five years of probation and six months of community labor in Virginia and ordered the R&B singer to stay away from his ex-girlfriend, a pop singer, for the next five years. He also was ordered to undergo a year of domestic-violence counseling.
Richmond Police Chief Bryan T. Norwood confirmed Tuesday evening that his department will supervise Brown's community-labor sentence. The department has been working with Brown's attorney, Mark Geragos, for several weeks to work out the logistics of Brown's court-ordered punishment.
What type of work Brown will be doing and when it will begin is still being worked out, a department spokeswoman said yesterday. The Los Angeles judge wants Brown to perform physical labor instead of community service such as mentoring young people.
Brown has a residence in Montpelier and is a native of Tappahannock.
He pleaded guilty in June to felony assault. He was accused of hitting, choking and biting Rihanna, 21, in an attack that occurred in Los Angeles' Hancock Park neighborhood as Brown drove a rented sports car after leaving a pre-Grammy party. He faces prison time if he violates the terms of his sentence.
Contact Mark Bowes at (804) 649-6450 or mbowes@timesdispatch.com.
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