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Sentencing delayed

A judge has delayed sentencing R&B singer Chris Brown on an assault charge to seek more input from Virginia authorities about whether Brown could do community labour in that state.

LOS ANGELES — A judge has delayed sentencing R&B singer Chris Brown on an assault charge to seek more input from Virginia authorities about whether Brown could do community labour in that state.

Superior Court Judge Patricia Schnegg said at a hearing Wednesday she will sentence Brown on Aug. 27 in the beating of Rihanna, who did not attend the hearing.

With Brown in the courtroom, the judge met with a prosecutor and defence attorney briefly before Brown’s scheduled sentencing.

When she emerged, Schnegg said Virginia had yet to say if it could accommodate her requirement that Brown serve community labour, rather than community service.

The Virginia Department of Corrections said earlier that it typically doesn’t consider whether to supervise a person on probation until after they are sentenced.

The 20-year-old Brown pleaded guilty in June to one count of felony assault stemming from the altercation with his then-girlfriend.

A plea deal calls for him to serve five years of probation and six months of community labour.

The judge has said she wants Brown to do community work comparable to graffiti removal or roadside cleanup.

The Run It! singer pleaded guilty before a preliminary hearing in which Rihanna was likely to testify against him.

The former couple never faced each other at that hearing. As Brown left through one door, Rihanna entered the courtroom from a private entrance.