Naomi Campbell sentenced for attacking maid

Supermodel Naomi Campbell has been sentenced to five days of menial work for throwing her cell phone at her former maid.

On March 30, 2006, Campbell found a pair of designer jeans -- which she had been planning to wear on Oprah Winfrey's television show that day -- missing. She suspected her maid Ana Scolavino of stealing the jeans and threw her cell phone at her. Chilean-born Scolavino needed four stitches on her head.

The 36-year-old Campbell, who has been linked with celebrities like Hollywood star Leonardo DiCaprio and U2 bassist Adam Clayton, pleaded guilty to misdemeanour, but did not issue a public apology to Scolavino. She said it was an accident. 'I pleaded guilty to a misdemeanour in court today,' a statement issued by her publicist read. 'That's the best way I know to say I'm sorry to Ana. I accepted responsibility and I'm prepared to take my punishment.'

It is not yet known what menial work Campbell will have to do, but it could be cleaning bedpans in a hospital or working in a government office. She will be spared the kind of punishment meted out to pop singer Boy George -- he had to sweep the streets in New York to settle drug abuse charges -- because the judge has recommended that she serve her sentence indoors.

Judge Robert Mandelbaum also ordered the model to pay about $363 to her maid -- to reimburse her medical bills -- and to take a two-day anger management course.

In 2000, Campbell pleaded guilty to threatening to throw an assistant out of a car, but a Canadian court let her off after she pleaded guilty. Another former employee of Campbell, Amanda Black, has sued her for 'verbal and physical abuse.'

Campbell is not the celebrity to have had a run-in with her maid. After she stole a necklace, Robert De Niro's wife's maid said in court, 'I only stole from people who didn't treat me with respect.' Late Beatle John Lennon's wife Yoko Ono's case against her chauffeur is still on. Ono claimed her driver demanded $2 million and threatened to kill her if she didn't pay up.

Photograph: Getty Images