Hayden Panettiere's ex-boyfriend Brian Hickerson pleads not guilty to assault charges

Charles Trepany, USA TODAY
·3 min read

Brian Hickerson has pleaded not guilty to several charges of crimes allegedly committed against his ex-girlfriend Hayden Panettiere.

The 31-year-old faces four felony counts of injuring a spouse, cohabitant, fiancé, boyfriend, girlfriend or child's parent; one misdemeanor count of battery; two felony counts of assault with a deadly weapon; and one felony count of dissuading a witness from prosecuting a crime.

According to the complaint, all of the charges were allegedly committed against Panettiere, whom he reportedly began dating in the summer of 2018.

The assault allegedly occurred from Dec. 15, 2019 to Jan. 18, 2020. On June 27, Hickerson allegedly attempted to dissuade Panettiere from seeking justice against him.

Hickerson was arrested on Thursday at around 9 p.m. in Los Angeles. He pleaded not guilty on Friday and was released on bond Saturday morning. He is ordered to return for a preliminary hearing on July 30.

In an Instagram post on Friday, Panettiere wrote that she hopes her story can empower others in similar situations.

View this post on Instagram

For anyone else affected by abuse and needing support, please know that you can call 1-800-799-7233. If you’re unable to speak safely, you can log onto thehotline.org or text LOVEIS to 1-866-331-9474. You are not alone.

A post shared by Hayden Panettiere (@haydenpanettiere) on Jul 17, 2020 at 6:59am PDT

"I am coming forward with the truth about what happened to me with the hope that my story will empower others in abusive relationships to get the help they need and deserve," she wrote. "I am prepared to do my part to make sure this man never hurts anyone again."

The actress' post also includes contact information for the National Domestic Violence Hotline.

"I'm grateful for my support system, which helped me find the courage to regain my voice and my life," she wrote.

USA TODAY has reached out to Panettiere's rep for further comment. USA TODAY was unable to reach Hickerson for comment.

Boyfriend of actress Hayden Panettiere ordered to stay 100 yards away from her

This isn't the first time Hickerson has been charged with assaulting Panettiere.

In May 2019, Hickerson pleaded not guilty to a felony domestic violence charge in a Los Angeles courtroom, where a judge also issued a restraining order forbidding him from coming within 100 yards of the actress.

Greg Risling, a spokesperson for the Los Angeles County District Attorney's office, confirmed the details of Hickerson's arraignment hearing to USA TODAY at the time.

The 30-year-old actress rose to fame playing a cheerleader with superpowers in the NBC sci-fi series "Heroes" before enjoying a second act as a country singer on the music soap "Nashville."

If you or someone you know is affected by domestic abuse and needs support, please call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-7233, or if you’re unable to speak safely, you can log onto thehotline.org or text LOVEIS to 1-866-331-9474. If you are in an emergency situation, please call 911.

Contributing: Jayme Deerwester

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Hayden Panettiere speaks out as ex-boyfriend is charged with assault