Redmond O'Neal Graduates From Rehab

Son of Ryan O'Neal and Farrah Fawcett thanks those who have supported him through all his drug troubles

Farrah Fawcett may have been proud today.

Redmond O'Neal, the late actress' son with Ryan O'Neal, was in a Los Angeles courtroom today, not to cop a plea or be punished, but to mark the completion of his court-ordered drug treatment program.

The 25-year-old, who appeared along with a few other graduates, hugged Superior Court Judge Michael A. Tynan and thanked everyone who stood by him throughout his struggles.

It can't have been easy.

After spending almost a month in jail following his arrest for heroin possession (which followed arrests for DUI and methamphetamine possession), O'Neal was transferred to a sober-house lockup in April 2009, his fourth stab at rehab. He was facing a possible four-year prison sentence if his case had gone to trial.

He was allowed out to attend Fawcett's funeral that June.

O'Neal completed the program, which included 12-step instruction, group therapy and one-on-one counseling, last month. He has another two years' probation to go.

"My plan is to move forward with my life, clean and sober," O'Neal said in a statement released by his lawyer, Richard Pintal. "I am going to do so privately and with as much quiet dignity as I can."

Also for his efforts, two drug-related cases have been wiped from his record, including the bust he shared with dad Ryan in 2008 when deputies found methamphetamine at the elder O'Neal's Malibu home. Ryan O'Neal's slate was also wiped clean after he completed a drug-diversion program.

It seems that he got a little bit lucky at one point. He was busted in December at the rehab facility after his behavior aroused suspicion upon his return from a 24-hour furlough.

"It actually strikes me that you haven't got a clue as to what recovery means," Tynan, who wasn't a recipient of a hug that day, told O'Neal at the time.