Ronnie Ortiz-Magro is apparently going to be allowed to travel to Italy for Jersey Shore's next season after all.
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The Jersey Shore star, who is facing an assault charge for a September 2009 fight which took place during the filming of the MTV reality show's first season, will be applying to a pretrial intervention program that will allow him to obtain an Italian visa and potentially avoid a criminal record, the Ashbury Park Press reported Monday.
Ortiz-Magro won't learn whether he has been accepted into the pretrial program until he appears before state Superior Court Judge Stephanie M. Wauters on June 6, according to Assistant Ocean County Prosecutor Hillary Bryce, but the application will still clear the way for him to join his Jersey Shore castmates in Italy next month to begin filming the fourth season, the Press reported.
If Ortiz-Magro -- who pleaded not guilty to the assault charge last month -- is admitted into the program, he will reportedly not be required to acknowledge his guilt, but would have to agree to adhere to its conditions and restrictions and refrain from getting into any trouble for at least a year.
Should he successfully fulfill the program, the 25-year-old reality TV star would then get to avoid having a criminal record.
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Ortiz-Magro originally faced up to five years in prison for the charge, which he was indicted for in December and is based on an incident in which he allegedly punched a man out in Seaside Heights, NJ.
In addition, the charge also put his ability to receive an Italian visa in jeopardy.
"Persons who are currently in the criminal process can not by issued a Visa," a spokesperson for the Italian Embassy told RadarOnline in January. "Any person applying for a Visa to Italy must have their case fully adjudicated."
The alleged victim, 27-year-old Stephen Izzo, has also filed a civil lawsuit not only against Ortiz, but also MTV and Jersey Shore's producers.
About The Author: Elizabeth Kwiatkowski