No Charges Against Springfield

ByABC News
October 13, 2000, 2:16 PM

October 11 -- Australian-born pop singer Rick Springfield, 51, will not be prosecuted for allegedly assaulting his wife, due to insufficient evidence and his wife's reluctance to press charges.

Springfield who racked up 14 Top 40 hits in the '80s, including (ahem) "Human Touch" was arrested Sept. 18 on charges of spousal abuse. He was taken into custody after police officers, responding to an emergency call, arrived at the actor-musician's Malibu, Calif., home and found his wife, Barbara Springthorpe, with minor injuries to her face and arm, including scratches and redness.

Authorities were summoned to the scene by Springfield's sister-in-law, who claimed that the singer struck his wife and pushed her to the floor during an argument. Springfield told sheriff's deputies he grabbed his wife in self-defense after she threw a jar at him.

Prosecutors announced Tuesday they had decided not to file charges against the actor-musician, as his wife and sister-and-law had since changed their stories.

"The case is not provable because the only evidence that the victim was assaulted is the hearsay statement made to her sister," said prosecutors in a statement. "The victim is non-desirous of prosecution and refuses to be interviewed further."

After the arrest, Springfield well known to soap opera buffs for his lengthy '80s stint on General Hospital told The Associated Press that the couple would be able to resolve its differences. "We're together and we're going to work it out," he said. The couple has been married for 18 years and has two sons.

Reuters contributed to this report.