KEY POINTS:
NEW YORK - Supermodel Naomi Campbell could be nearing a plea deal on a charge of assaulting her housekeeper with a cell phone, a New York state prosecutor told a court hearing today.
"We are still in the process of working out a possible disposition," Assistant District Attorney Shanda Strain told Judge Evelyn Laporte of the Manhattan Criminal Court.
Lawyers for Campbell, who wore a simple charcoal dress with a bow in front, said nothing during the hearing.
The judge set a new hearing for January 16, when Campbell could either accept a plea deal or possibly be charged with second-degree assault.
The judge also granted Strain's request to extend an order that bans the 36-year-old celebrity model from having any contact with housekeeper Ana Scolavino.
Campbell faces up to seven years in prison if convicted of second-degree assault. She could also face deportation.
Prosecutors said in court documents Campbell threw a cell phone at Scolavino during a dispute over a pair of jeans. They said the cell phone hit the woman in the back of her head, opening a wound that required four staples to close.
Accompanied by a stocky bodyguard, Campbell rushed into the courthouse past a horde of reporters, photographers and camera crew on hand to record Campbell's three-minute appearance.
On Tuesday, another maid, Gaby Gibson, filed a 35-page amended law suit against Campbell calling the model a "violent super bigot."
Gibson alleges that Campbell poked fun at her broken English and yelled at Gibson because of her Romanian heritage, saying, "You are not in the Third World any more, stupid."
Campbell's lawyer David Breitbart denied the allegation.
- REUTERS
