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Actor Charlie Sheen was charged on Monday with assaulting wife Brooke Mueller following a Christmas Day incident involving the couple at a vacation home in the US state of Colorado.
Sheen, 44, appeared in court to face one felony charge and two misdemeanor counts stemming from the incident as a lawyer for Mueller appealed for charges against the "Two and a Half Men" star to be dropped.
"Brooke would like the case dismissed and the charges against Charlie to go away," attorney Yale Galanter told the court, adding that Mueller and Sheen were "mortified" by the public attention surrounding the incident.
Sheen, the star of Oscar-winning films such as "Platoon" and "Wall Street," is alleged to have held a knife to Mueller's throat during the incident, according to affidavits filed in the case.
The judge at Aspen's Pitkin County Court on Monday approved a request from prosecutors and defense lawyers to lift an order barring Sheen from having any contact with his wife.
Other provisions of the protective order issued earlier remain in effect. Sheen is required to seek help for anger management issues and to refrain from consuming alcohol, illegal drugs or prescription drugs other than in the quantities prescribed by a personal physician.
Sheen and Mueller married in 2008 and are the parents of twin boys. They spoke briefly in the courtroom and then left in separate cars. Galanter said the Sheens would be returning to California on a single plane.
Sheen remains free on 8,500 dollars bond posted following his arrest after a 911 call to police was made from the Aspen home Mueller had rented.
Sheen faces a charge of felony menacing, which carries a sentence of one to three years in prison if convicted, followed by two years probation.
He also is charged with misdemeanor assault and criminal mischief. He has not entered a response to the charges.
