Actor Stuart Townsend Arrested On Charges Of Domestic Violence & False Imprisonment

Irish actor Stuart Townsend has been arrested on a felony charge of domestic violence.

The 46-year-old film star, who was previously Charlize Theron‘s partner for nearly a decade in the 2000s, was arrested in Santa Monica, California last week on charges including felony domestic violence, misdemeanor false imprisonment, and misdemeanor dissuading someone from reporting a crime. Sources allege that he apparently got physical with his wife and refused to let her leave during an argument the two were having.

According to law enforcement insiders who spoke about the matter to TMZ, Townsend and his wife were apparently arguing in their Santa Monica home when neighbors called the cops due to the loud screaming. Officers separated the two of them upon arrival, though the actor allegedly warned his wife not to say anything (hence the dissuading charge, it’d appear). His wife also reportedly claimed of pain in her arms, though she ended up denying medical care at the scene, anyways.

Upon questioning both parties over the incident, Santa Monica police determined that the pair had a verbal fight which escalated. At one point, Townsend apparently grabbed his wife by the arms — hence the alleged arm pain — and then reportedly forbid her from leaving when she tried to get away (hence the false imprisonment charge). Police ultimately decided to arrest the Irish actor, charging him with the felony DV and those two misdemeanors. He was soon thereafter released on his own recognizance, after posting $50,000 bail.

It’s interesting, though — a week after the incident (which apparently occurred back on September 5), TMZ saw Townsend and his wife out and about leaving a restaurant on Friday night. The outlet asked about the situation, and the pair brushed it off, with the actor noting they both “look forward to this being resolved speedily and favorably and returning to their quiet lives as spouses and parents.”

Apparently, according to them, they did have a loud argument at the time, but it was over and resolved by the time the cops showed up and got involved. Sounds like both Townsend and his wife are keen to drop the whole matter and move on.

In addition to dating Theron for nearly a decade before the pair’s 2010 split, Townsend is best known professionally for his role as Dorian Gray in the 2003 action movie The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen. He’s been working somewhat less in recent years after a flourish of roles in the early 2000s, but he’s still active in movies, as well as on TV, where he recently acted in several episodes of Salem in 2015.

[Image via WENN]