AKON - AKON TO STAND TRIAL IN DECEMBER OVER ENDANGERMENT CHARGES

AKON TO STAND TRIAL IN DECEMBER OVER ENDANGERMENT CHARGES

LATEST: R+B singer AKON is to stand trial over charges relating to a 2007 "fan-throwing" incident.
The Smack That hitmaker has been charged with one misdemeanour count of endangering the welfare of a minor and one count of second-degree harassment, after throwing a fan into the audience during a concert in Fishkill, New York in June last year.
Akon, real name Aliaune Thiam, is accused of hauling a concertgoer, who allegedly threw an object at him, up onto the stage and pushing him back into the audience.
The unnamed 15 year old landed on another teenager, who later claimed she had been diagnosed with a concussion.
Akon, who maintains he is innocent, appeared with his lawyer Andrea Zellan for a brief hearing at Fishkill Town Court on Wednesday (03Sep08). Zellan asked Judge Harold Epstein to grant her client's request for a jury trial.
Epstein agreed, and a start date for the trial has been set for 1 December (08), unless a deal is reached before then.
In a statement, Zellan says of the decision: "We are pleased that Judge Epstein adjourned the case to a date certain for either a trial or a negotiated resolution.
"Akon looks forward to putting this incident behind him, and, in the meantime, he will continue to meet every requirement set forth by the court."
The star's alleged victim, now 16, was present at Wednesday's hearing, but the youth's father admits the ruling came as a bit of a shock.
He said: “We didn’t expect this to happen.”
Akon faces up to a year and 15 days behind bars if he is convicted of the charges against him.