Hayden Panettiere’s ex-boyfriend Brian Hickerson has pleaded not guilty to felony assault charges.
Brian, 31, was arrested and charged with multiple felony charges – including two assault charges – during an arraignment on Friday (17.07.20), after he was alleged to have been abusive toward Hayden in incidents which took place between May 2019 and January 2020.
And according to People magazine, Brian has entered a plea of not guilty to all charges against him.
The aspiring actor was arrested on eight charges, including four felony charges of corporal injury on a spouse/cohabitant, two felony charges of assault with a deadly weapon, and a misdemeanour charge of battery on a spouse/cohabitant.
Brian was also charged with dissuading a witness from prosecuting a crime, which is a felony, after he was alleged to have attempted to "prevent and dissuade Hayden P., a victim and witness of a crime from causing a complaint, indictment, information, probation and parole violating to be sought and prosecuted and assisting in the prosecution thereof".
A preliminary hearing for Brian’s case has been set for July 30, and bail is set at $350,000.
Brian’s arrest came after Hayden, 30, filed to register an out-of-state order to protect her from her ex-partner in California earlier this week, five months after he was arrested in Wyoming for domestic battery after allegedly hitting the ‘Nashville’ actress in the face.
He is expected to face trial for the allegations in Wyoming in September, and has pleaded not guilty to the charges.
Meanwhile, Hayden recently said she wants to "come forward" with her allegations of domestic violence in order to "empower others in abusive relationships".
She said: "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. I am prepared to do my part to make sure this man never hurts anyone again. I’m grateful for my support system, which helped me find the courage to regain my voice and my life."