Rocker Rod Stewart, son resolve Florida hotel assault case

LOS ANGELES: Music icon Rod Stewart and his son have pleaded guilty to battery in an assault case stemming from a New Year's Eve 2019 altercation with a security guard at an exclusive Florida hotel.

Court records released Friday (17 Dec 2021) show that the singer and his son Sean Stewart entered guilty pleas to misdemeanour charges of simple battery.

"No one was injured in the incident and a jury did not find Sir Rod Stewart guilty of the accusation,'' his attorney Guy 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.''

The raspy-voiced Stewart, 76, is a British member of the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame and was knighted by Queen Elizabeth II in 2016. His hits include "Da Ya Think I'm Sexy,'' "You're In My Heart,'' "Hot Legs'' and, probably his best-known song, "Maggie May.''

The plea agreement, dated and signed Monday, means that Stewart and his son, 41, won't have to appear in court and formal adjudication of the charge was withheld. There will be no trial.

Neither will do any jail time or be required to pay fines and won't be placed on probation, Fronstin said.

The Stewarts were accused of a physical altercation with security guard Jessie Dixon at the luxury Breakers Hotel in Palm Beach on Dec. 31, 2019. The dispute involved Dixon's refusal to allow them into a private New Year's Eve party at the hotel.

Dixon said in court papers that Rod Stewart punched him in the rib cage with a closed fist and that Sean Stewart shoved him.

A spokesperson for Palm Beach State Attorney Dave Aronberg, whose office prosecuted the case, said in an email that Dixon agreed with the outcome of the case.