Former American Idol contestant Jessica Sierra was sent back to rehab following her plead to no contest facing charges of disorderly intoxication and obstruction of an officer. On Monday, the 22-year-old singer went to court and was soon sentenced in Tampa , Florida by Judge Daniel Perry to a year-long stint at a California rehabilitation clinic. Moreover, the judge foresaw that Sierra may take advantage and use this as publicity, and this ordered her to refrain from doing any interviews or appearing on TV during her recovery, including any promotional spots for her appearance on the upcoming reality show, Celebrity Rehab With Dr. Drew, which debuts on VH1 tonight.
"I don"t want this to be some steppingstone for her to have a career as a recovering addict," Judge Perry said of Jessica Sierra, whose sentence includes three years of probation, following an incident last year at a Tampa bar, during which Sierra got into a fight with a bar personnel and later the police when she was kicked out of the bar.
Her trouble with the law did not end there as she violated the condition of her parole on her past charges with battery and possession of cocaine. She was soon held without bond and has been kept in prison since December 1, 2007. Her attorney, John Fitzgibbons, pleaded "not guilty" in behalf of his client, but informed the court that he never saw the violation coming, and was buying time to consult with doctors to come up with sentencing options for the court"s consideration.
But even if Sierra was behind bars, she was still the source of controversy as Vivid Entertainment announced that it was releasing a 72-minute sex tape entitled Jessica Sierra Hardcore, which featured her with a past boyfriend. It wasn"t long before Sierra"s pregnancy became public.
The former American Idol contestant was already released from jail yesterday, with the intent of going to California to begin her court-ordered treatment of one year. However, the state of California refused to allow her to stay. Today, a scheduled meeting will take place in the Hillsborough County judge to discuss the situation.
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