Paris Hilton going to jail

THE endless party that is Paris Hilton's lifestyle was gatecrashed by the law today as the socialite was sentenced to 45 days in prison for a parole violation.

The millionaire heiress to the Hilton hotel empire looked close to tears as she wailed, "I'm sorry, I'm sorry" just moments before receiving her sentence at downtown Los Angeles' Metropolitan Court.

Paris' parents, Rick and Kathy Hilton, looked visibly upset as the sentence was handed down to their daughter, one of the world's most photographed and famous women.

Hilton's parole violation conviction came after she was caught driving on a suspended licence in February following her no contest plea to drink-driving.

Prosecutors had warned yesterday they would seek a jail sentence for the blonde style icon but it did not deter Hilton from testing the patience of the court by turning up for her hearing at least 15 minutes late.

Soberly dressed in a dark suit with a white blouse, with her blonde hair swept back in a pony tail, Hilton did not comment as she arrived, running a gauntlet of at least 60 paparazzi and reporters.

Builders on a construction site opposite the courthouse shouted "Jail time!" to dozens of television crews and photographers who ringed the building in downtown Los Angeles.

Satellite television trucks crowded side streets and local news crews hovered overhead in helicopters, completing a surreal scene at the court, which normally deals with minor traffic violations.

Prosecutors told the court Hilton had been stopped on January 15 by California Highway Patrol and told she was not allowed to be driving.

On that occasion, Hilton signed a police statement acknowledging she was not supposed to drive and she was let off with an informal warning.

But just over a month later she was hauled over again in Hollywood when spotted driving her $US190,000 ($231,045) Bentley Continental GTC at night with its headlights off.

Hilton's spokesman said his client was unaware she was violating her parole - but prosecutors dismissed that line of argument, citing the earlier brush with traffic police in January.

Hilton had lost her licence for alcohol-related reckless driving and was given 36 months probation.

Paris Hilton going to jail
The charges stemmed from her September 7 arrest after she was found driving her Mercedes with an alcohol level equal to the legal limit.

Court documents described her decision to repeatedly keep driving as a "flagrant" violation of court orders and demanded she be given a custodial sentence.

They also alleged Hilton failed to enrol in an alcohol education program within 21 days of the order directing her to do so.

A favourite target for tabloid gossip and the paparazzi, Hilton appeared in the reality television series The Simple Life and in 2003 an unauthorised sex video with her former boyfriend appeared on the internet.

She ventured into music last year with a debut album and has had cameo roles in a handful of films, including the 2005 horror film House of Wax.

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