Madonna Withdraws Assault Complaint Against Sean Penn

LOS ANGELES (AP) _ Madonna is withdrawing an assault complaint against her estranged husband, Sean Penn.

″Madonna asked that there be no criminal charges pressed. There is no other evidence with which to base a criminal charge so there won’t be a criminal charge filed,″ district attorney’s spokesman Al Albergate said Tuesday.

Madonna filed the assault report at the Sheriff’s Department over an incident alleged to have occurred at the couple’s Malibu home during the New Year’s weekend. Contents of the report were not disclosed.

However, the British tabloid press reported that Madonna was beaten, gagged and left strapped to an armchair for nine hours before she escaped.

Nationally syndicated columnist Liz Smith also reported the alleged incident, saying Madonna was ″trussed up like a turkey.″

Those reports could not be verified.

Neither Albergate nor sheriff’s detectives would comment. Deputy District Attorney Lauren Weiss, who met with the singer-actress on Monday, did not return telephone calls, nor did attorney and an publicist for Penn.

Madonna’s publicist, Liz Rosenberg, said the sultry songstress had no comment.

Madonna moved out of the couple’s Malibu home following the alleged attack and filed for divorce to end her turbulent three-year marriage.

The divorce petition followed an earlier divorce filing and fights between photographers and the hot-tempered Penn, one of which led to a 60-day jail term for the actor.