Mel Gibson's recent court-ordered community service at a children's charity will be a “brand new start” for him, parents have claimed.
The actor has agreed to spend 16 hours at LA philanthropic organisation Mending Kids as part of a plea bargain in his misdemeanour battery case, which stemmed from an row with ex-girlfriend Oksana Grigorieva, with whom Gibson has a daughter.
According to TMZ, Gibson has already received recognition from several parents connected to the charity, who are willing to over-look his charges because of his past support of the organisation.
Speaking to the site, parent James Nicol remarked how Gibson's donations to Mending Kids in recent years had helped pay for operations to fix his foster son's severe spinal issues.
He said, "If Mel was coming over to our house to play ball with my son, I would not be the least bit concerned."
As well as the community service, Gibson was also ordered to attend 52 weeks of counselling sessions at last week's hearing and instructed to only have "peaceful contact" with Grigorieva, a stipulation which already existed under his family law custody case.
