49-year old actor Sean Penn was charged Friday (February 19) with assaulting a paparazzi and vandalizing his equipment. The Los Angeles prosecutor’s office confirmed this to People.
The actor is facing two counts following an incident on October 2, 2009 on a residential street in Brentwood, California.
A video clearly shows Sean Penn walking quickly toward a photographer and yelling at him. It also shows the actor kicking the man in the leg. The photog’s camera was damaged during the altercation.
The actor will be arraigned on March 22. If he is found guilty, he could face up to 16 months in jail.
His rep could not be reached for comment.
He did spend time behind bars in 1987 after attacking a photographer on a film set. He was sentenced to 60 days in jail and served about half of that time in the slammer.
Sean Penn took a break from acting last year to spend more time with his family. His wife, actress Robin Wright-Penn, filed for divorce a while later.