Sir Rod Stewart and son Sean plead guilty to battery after New Year's Eve fight

18 December 2021, 08:55

Sir Rod Stewart and his son Sean have pleaded guilty to battery following a fight with a security guard at a hotel on New Year's Eve.

The pair faced assault charges after they were refused access to a private event at a hotel in Florida on New Year's Eve in 2019.

Court records released on Friday show the singer, aged 76, 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 lawyer 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 plea agreement, dated and signed on Monday, means Stewart and his son, 41, will not 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 they will not be placed on probation, Mr Fronstin said.

The Stewarts were accused of a physical altercation with security guard Jessie Dixon at the Breakers Hotel in Palm Beach on December 31 2019.

The dispute involved Mr Dixon's refusal to allow them into a private party at the hotel.

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

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