U.S. actor Emile Hirsch has pleaded guilty to assaulting a female film executive during the Sundance Film Festival in Utah in January.

    The “Into the Wild” and “Milk” star was given a 15-day jail term and 50 hours of community service as part of a plea deal agreed with the prosecutors.

    He was also fined US$4,750.

    Daniele Bernfeld, an executive for Insurge Pictures, told police Hirsch grabbed her in a chokehold at a nightclub in Park City.

    The plea deal agreed Monday means Hirsch managed to avoid the maximum jail sentence of five years. He was told the charges would be dropped from his record if he completed his sentence.

    He was slurring his words and struggling to balance after having three or four drinks at the time of the assault, according to public court documents seen by the Associated Press news agency.

    But county attorney Robert Hilder said Monday he had been sober since the incident on Jan. 25 and showed remorse on a number of occasions.

    Bernfeld, for her part, said the plea deal did not go far enough, saying the attack had caused her longterm damage.

    She said the actor grabbed her from behind, put her in a chokehold, pulled her across the table and landed on top of her on the floor, putting his hands around her throat.

    Hirsch is best known for his work with Sean Penn. He took the lead role in Penn’s 2007 film “Into the Wild” and starred alongside him in “Milk.” He also appeared in Ang Lee’s “Taking Woodstock” in 2009.

    (SD-Agencies)