Paparazzo pleads innocent to charges over Witherspoon
Showbiz Desk

LOS ANGELES—A paparazzo accused of using overly-aggressive tactics to photograph movie star Reese Witherspoon pleaded innocent to assault and other charges after allegedly hitting a child with his camera. The case marks the latest in a string of confrontations between celebrities and the photographers who make a lucrative living snapping them in Los Angeles that led to California’s movie star governor, Arnold Schwarzenegger, passing a new law last month that boosted civil penalties against wayward paparazzi.
Todd Wallace, 44, denied six charges linked to an incident in which he is accused of disrupting a birthday celebration for the “Legally Blonde” actress’s six-year-old daughter at a Disney theme park near Los Angeles. Wallace allegedly struck a five-year-old girl with his camera and pushed two employees of California Adventure Park near Disneyland as he worked to get shots of Witherspoon and her party on September 2.
The photographer faces four counts of battery against two park employees as well as against the girl and her mother, who is a friend of Witherspoon. He is also charged with false imprisonment and causing a child to suffer and inflicting unjustifiable mental suffering under circumstances and conditions other than those likely to produce great bodily harm or death.