An American bodyguard working for R&B singer Trey Songz in Dubai, is sentenced to jail time for assault after protecting Trey from an attacker...
From The Daily Mail
A celebrity bodyguard has been sentenced to a year in a Dubai jail after he stepped in to protect Grammy nominated R&B star TreySongz from being attacked.
Cornell Whitfield was 'doing his job' when he put himself in front of the singer who had been confronted by a man as they left the luxury FIVE Palm Jumeirah hotel.
To calm down the 'aggressive' hotel guest who was swearing and waving his arms he claims that he gently tapped the man's face.
The 40-year-old, who is rap star Lil Kim's personal bodyguard and has provided close protection for a host of other stars, thought nothing more of the confrontation and flew back to the US after the incident in March.
But when he returned to Dubai two months ago he was arrested on an assault charge after being told the man he had struck had filed a criminal complaint.
Whitfield was told he had to pay his 'victim' £49,000 ($60,000) to have the charges dropped.
When he was unable to raise the money, he was sentenced to a year in jail.
The father of two is currently on bail but has not been allowed to leave the United Arab Emirates with his family in Miami, Florida, desperate for him to return home.
The demand for money – or face jail – mirrors the recent nightmare suffered by America student Elizabeth Polanco De Los Santos who was given a year long jail sentence for allegedly assaulting a security guard at the country's international airport.
The 21-year-old had her sentence commuted after pressure from the Detained in Dubai group who are also representing Whitfield in his attempt to leave the country.
As well as Lil Kim, Whitfield has been the bodyguard for NFL sports stars Trevon Diggs and Deebo Samuels.
He has also acted as bodyguard for the Junior Combs, the actor son of Sean Combs, and the rap artist Quavo.
Whitfield was accompanying Trey Songz, who has also appeared in the film 'Baggage Claim' and has triple Grammy nominations, as part of his security detail when they left the five-star hotel to go to a club.
They were confronted by a Jordanian national who began acting aggressively shouting, swearing and waving his arms at the group.
Whitfield attempted to calm the man down and tapped his face he said in an attempt to diffuse the situation.
The incident was caught on hotel CCTV and Whitfield and the others in TreySongz group later flew back to the US.
It was only when the bodyguard returned to Dubai in August that he was arrested.
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