SANTA ANA, Calif. – A judge dismissed domestic violence charges against Tawny Kitaen after the actress apologized in writing for talking about the case on Howard Stern’s radio show. here
Superior Court Judge Pamela Iles, who handled the proceedings Wednesday privately in her office, said Kitaen “completed all her requirements and did a real good job.”
Kitaen, 42, is estranged from St. Louis Cardinals pitcher Chuck Finley.
Kitaen, who appeared in the 1984 film “Bachelor Party” and briefly hosted “America’s Funniest People,” was accused of attacking her husband on April 1, 2002, as they were returning home from dinner. Police said they saw abrasions and scrapes on Finley’s body.
Kitaen pleaded no contest to a misdemeanor count of spousal abuse and was ordered to undergo a year of counseling, avoid contact with Finley and make a $500 donation to a battered-women’s shelter.
The charges would have been dropped after her counseling, but Iles asked for the written apology after Kitaen told Stern on the radio that she had been forced to enter her plea.