Sean Penn and Madonna Cited in Assault Suit

Actor Sean Penn and his pop singer-fiancee Madonna are targets of a $1-million damage suit filed by a free-lance photographer who says Penn attacked him with a rock and his own camera in a Nashville, Tenn., hotel car park last month.

In his Los Angeles Superior Court lawsuit, Laurence Cottrell says he believes the assault was instigated by and carried out with the approval of Madonna, who was present.

According to the suit, Cottrell and free-lance journalist Ian Markham-Smith were in the car park for the purpose of asking the couple for a short interview and photo portraying them as “a happy couple.”

Then, when the couple appeared, Penn, “without provocation verbally assaulted” them, picked up a rock and hurled it at Cottrell and then wrenched Cottrell’s camera from him and used it to batter him on the arms, upper body and back, the suit alleges.

Penn was arrested after the June 30 incident and released on $500 bond. He was ordered to appear in Nashville Metro General Sessions Court for a preliminary hearing Oct. 17 or plead guilty before that date.

Cottrell’s suit also names Orion Pictures Corp. as a defendant, contending the incident was part of a conspiracy to maximize publicity for Penn and the movie “At Close Range,” in which he stars, and to build Penn’s reputation as a “mean and moody film star, a member of the ‘Brat Pack,’ particularly prone to brawling and fighting in public.”