A former North Dakota college football player has been given probation for stalking billionaire David Geffen.
Jamie Ralph Kuntz, 21, pleaded no contest February 9 to one misdemeanor count of stalking and was ordered to stay 180 meters away from Geffen for 10 years, said Jane Robison, a spokeswoman for the Los Angeles district attorney.
Kuntz was charged with felony stalking and five counts of violating a restraining order to stay away from Geffen's homes in Beverly Hills, California, and Malibu, California, after being convicted of trespassing on the entertainment mogul's property.
Defense lawyer David Wohl said Kuntz got into trouble for showing up at Geffen's homes after their short-term relationship ended.
Wohl said he thought Kuntz would have prevailed at trial, but had already been in jail more than three months because he couldn't afford the USD 150,000 bail and didn't want to spend more time awaiting his day in court.
"It's celebrity justice in reverse," Wohl said. "The victim is a celebrity, and judges are afraid of something happening to them."
Geffen, who made his fortune as a record producer and co-founded DreamWorks Pictures, is a powerful player in Hollywood.
Kuntz said he was kicked off the North Dakota State College of Sciences football team two years ago because he was gay after being seen kissing a 65-year-old boyfriend at a game. The coach said he was removed for lying about the kiss. As part of the plea deal, Los Angeles prosecutors reduced the stalking charge and dropped the other counts.
Kuntz must attend psychiatric counseling twice a week for a year as a condition of his two-year probation term, Robison said.
