BRENTWOOD - A Greenland woman was sentenced to six months in county jail after she admitted to striking a man in the face with a cue stick at a pool hall in downtown Portsmouth on Christmas Eve two years ago.

Haley Hansler, 26, pleaded guilty to misdemeanor simple assault as part of a negotiated deal with county prosecutors. She was sentenced to 12 months in county jail with half of her sentence suspended so long as she remains on good behavior, according to terms of the deal.

Hansler is eligible to serve her sentence on work release as long as it's approved by corrections officials. Prosecutors agreed to drop a felony second-degree assault charge in exchange for her guilty plea.

Hansler attacked a man at Legend's Billiards & Tavern in Portsmouth around 12:20 a.m. on Dec. 24, 2010. The victim needed stitches on his face and head. Hansler made her plea on Oct. 23 in Rockingham County Superior Court before Judge N. William Delker.

The plea deal allowed Hansler to avoid a felony conviction and a possible 3½- to 7-year state prison term.

Hansler will have to pay restitution for the man's medical expenses and remain on probation for about a year, court records show. The plea deal came about weeks after Hansler indicated to a judge that she was going to claim self defense at trial.

Portsmouth police say that Hansler accused the man of raping her friend several years ago. Hansler confronted the man about the alleged rape, and struck him when he asked what she was talking about, according to police.

She later claimed her accusation angered the victim and placed her "in fear of her safety," defense lawyer Alan Cronheim said in a court motion. Hansler hit the man once he approached, "recognizing (he) was bigger and stronger than she was, reasonably feeling as if she was about to be attacked," Cronheim wrote in court papers. Prosecutors will be able to impose the remaining six months of the jail term if Hansler gets arrested within the next two years.

jkimble@newstote.com