Lindsay Lohan escapes jail sentence

US actress Lindsay Lohan has sidestepped another stay in jail after a judge sent her back to rehab.

Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Elden Fox ordered the 24-year-old to remain at the Betty Ford Center until January 3 and report back to court in late February.

"You are an addict, I hope you understand that," the judge told Lohan.

A prosecutor had advocated a six-month jail sentence for the "Mean Girls" star, but Judge Fox opted for rehab after reviewing filings by probation and rehab officials and a letter written by Lohan.

The actress cried after hearing the sentence.

The judge acknowledged that 24-year-old Lohan has been in-and-out of court and rehab since a pair of high-profile arrests in 2007. He told the actress that he would not be manipulated by her, but was giving her a final chance to stay clean.

Fox's sentence means Lohan will not be returning to a suburban Los Angeles women's jail for a fourth time. The judge had threatened to send Lohan to jail for 30 days for each drug test she skipped or failed.

He ordered her held for nearly a month during a hearing in September, but another judge overturned his ruling and Lohan has been free on bail and in inpatient rehab voluntarily since then. Lohan is due back in court on February 25.