(Reuters) - Actor Emile Hirsch, star of the film "Into the Wild," was being treated at an alcohol rehabilitation facility after he allegedly assaulted a film executive at the Sundance Film Festival last month in Utah, his lawyer said.
The actor had been drinking heavily that night and had no memory of the Jan. 25 incident, lawyer Robert Offer said in a statement on Thursday. Hirsch checked himself into an alcohol rehabilitation facility a few days later, Offer said.
Hirsch, 29, was charged on Thursday with felony aggravated assault for allegedly putting Daniele Bernfeld, Paramount Pictures' vice president of digital entertainment, in a chokehold at the TAO Nightclub in Park City, Utah.
According to court papers filed on Thursday, Bernfeld told police Hirsch pulled her across a table and landed on top of her on the floor and wrapped his hands around her neck.
"Emile takes these allegations very seriously, and is devastated that any of this has occurred," Offer said in the statement.
Hirsch is due to appear in court on March 16 and could face up to five years in prison and a $5,000 fine if convicted.
He has also been charged with misdemeanor intoxication, said Ryan Stack, a prosecutor with the Summit County Attorney's office.