Lohan sent to rehab after release from jail

LINDSAY LOHAN has been released from jail, but she’s not exactly a free woman.

The actress was discharged yesterday morning after serving 14 days of a 90-day sentence for violating her probation in a 2007 drug case, a sheriff’s spokesman said. She is now required to begin a three-month stint in rehab.

A prosecutor has said Lohan cannot be released early and will have to spend the entire time in treatment.

Lohan’s abbreviated stay was not unexpected, although it was considerably longer than the 84 minutes she spent at the same facility in 2007.

The judge said during Lohan’s surrender on July 20 that she had no control over how long the actress would be jailed, but did require her to serve her time at a women’s jail operated by the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department.

A judge in Beverly Hills, California, had ordered Lohan to report to rehab within a day of her release from jail, but shortened that time last week after conferring with Lohan’s attorney and a prosecutor.

Los Angeles sheriff’s spokesman Steve Whitmore said yesterday the actress was required to report directly to rehab.

Inmates such as Lohan, 24, who are serving time for nonviolent offences typically have their stays reduced due to overcrowding and credits for good behaviour.

Media have been camped outside the jail since Lohan was booked on July 20, catching shots of her mother and sister coming to visit.

She was released to a waiting car and did not walk out the front door.

Lohan pleaded guilty in August 2007 to two misdemeanour counts of being under the influence of cocaine; no contest to two counts of driving with a blood-alcohol level above 0.08 percent and one count of reckless driving. She was sentenced to three years of probation.