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LOS ANGELES -- The trial of actor David Soul on charges of battery and wife abuse was postponed Monday and charges may be dropped if he qualifies for and completes a domestic violence counseling program, city officials said.
Deputy City Attorney Susan Kaplan said Municipal Court Judge Timothy England recommended Soul, 38, for the counseling program Jan. 4.
The actor will appear in court Feb. 17 when probation department officials will announce whether or not he qualifies.
Miss Kaplan said if Soul qualifies, the two misdemeanor charges will be held in abeyance and then dropped when he finishes the program. If he fails to show for counseling or again abuses his wife, the charges will be prosecuted.
The judge recommended the program, Miss Kaplan said, after Patricia Soul, 31, told him she didn't want to drop the charges against her husband.
Soul, best known for his portrayal of a policeman on the television series, 'Starsky and Hutch,' is accused of striking his wife and leaving her face bruised at a dispute at their Bel Air home Oct. 26.
Miss Kaplan said Soul's attorney sought to have the charges dismissed because Soul had reportedly reconciled with his wife, but the city attorney's office refused to do so.