Naomi Campbell gets six-month suspended sentence for assaulting photographer

The 45-year-old model hit Gaetano Di Giovanni back in 2009

Model Naomi Campbell has been found guilty of assault after being accused of scratching the eye of a paparazzo photographer who took photographs of her and her former boyfriend while she was on a holiday.

The 45-year-old model hit Gaetano Di Giovanni with her handbag after he photographed her walking through the Sicilian island of Lipar with Russian billionaire Vladimir Doronin in 2009, reports Dailymail.


She was convicted of assault by a Sicilian court on Friday and received a six months suspended prison sentence.

The alleged attack occurred in August 2009 when the British supermodel and her then partner Doronin moored took their yacht off the island to visit the local town after spending a few days in St. Tropez.

Campbell realised Di Giovanni had taken several photographs as she walked through the narrow streets with the Russian billionaire and attacked him with her handbag.

She scratched one of his eyes and Di Giovanni needed medical treatment following the incident and took three days to recover, the court heard.

"I had just started taking some shots of her and I did not expect such a violent reaction," Di Giovanni said in 2013, when Campbell was ordered to stand trial.

The model reached an agreement with the photographer and he withdrew the charges.

But prosecutor Francesco Massara ordered the trial to go ahead in the public interest because of the gravity of the charges against her, Italy's national news agency Ansa said.

He said it was in the public interest because of the serious nature of the charges.

Campbell now intends to appeal the decision, according to E! News. Her lawyer Guido Carlo Alleva said, "We are appealing the ruling surrounding the 2009 incident. Due to the ongoing legal process, we cannot discuss the matter further at this time."

The supermodel has become well known for her fiery temper during her 30-year career. She was ordered to attend anger-management classes in 1998 after striking her personal assistant with a mobile phone.

A decade later in 2008 she admitted attacking police at Heathrow in a row over lost luggage.