Crying Hilton sent back to prison
A weeping Paris Hilton has been ordered back to jail after a day of relative freedom as a judge rescinded a Los Angeles sheriff department's decision to place the celebrity heiress under house arrest.
Hilton was led out of the court in handcuffs and crying "Mom, Mom. It's not right" as she was taken away to serve the remainder of her 45-day sentence for violating her probation in a reckless driving conviction.
It was not immediately clear how many days she would serve.
Hilton, 26, had been transferred from jail to house arrest for unspecified medical reasons after serving only three days of her sentence.
The decision caused national outrage in the US and accusations of favourable treatment, although Hilton's original 45-day jail sentence had been considered by many to be excessively harsh for the crime.
Los Angeles city prosecutors then filed papers demanding that Hilton be returned to jail.
They also demanded the Los Angeles Sheriff's Department, which runs the jail system, be held in contempt for releasing her early and violating the sentencing order, which expressly barred electronic monitoring of Hilton.
Hilton, a hotel heiress and star of the television show The Simple Life, has become a symbol of privilege and excess in America's celebrity culture.
She had been expected to testify by video conference from her lavish Hollywood Hills home. But Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Michael Sauer told sheriffs to bring her to court, sparking a media frenzy.
Photographers and cameramen laid siege to Hilton's home and news helicopters buzzed overhead as she emerged wearing drab grey sweatpants and was swiftly handcuffed and placed weeping into a sheriff's car.
Citing privacy issues, officials have given no details of Hilton's medical problems but media speculation has ranged from a looming nervous breakdown to a rash.
-Reuters