Bobby Brown was charged with battery yesterday, three days after his wife Whitney Houston called Georgia police claiming he hit her. Police who responded to the call said that Houston suffered a cut lip and bruised cheek.

Brown turned himself in to authorities yesterday and is scheduled to appear at a preliminary hearing on January 7th. The charge carries a maximum of one year in prison, though for first-time offenders counseling is often handed down as a sentence.

The incident is just the latest in a tumultuous few years for Brown. He served seven days in prison in August for a probation violation. Another probation violation earned him a month-long jail stint in 2000. Brown and Houston have two children.

MARC W. DOLECH
(December 11, 2003)