Photo by Marty Caivano

Former child actor Brian Bonsall and his girlfriend, Lindsey Dunavan, arrive at the Boulder County Justice Center for Bonsall's court hearing Friday morning. Bonsall was charged with felony menacing and third-degree assault after allegedly assaulting Dunavan in March.

A Boulder district judge ruled Friday that former child actor Brian Bonsall, 25, can live with his girlfriend, four months after he was charged with assaulting her.

Bonsall — who played Michael J. Fox's kid brother, Andy Keaton, on "Family Ties" from 1986 to 1989 — remained silent during the hearing in Boulder County District Court.

His attorney requested that a mandatory protection order keeping him away from Lindsey Dunavan be removed because the couple's therapist felt comfortable with the two living together.

Dunavan pumped her fists with joy after Judge Lael Montgomery lifted the protection order.

"You have to stay sober," Montgomery said following her decision. Bonsall — who has a history of drinking offenses — nodded and then turned to smile at Dunavan.

He was charged with felony menacing, third-degree assault, false imprisonment and obstruction of telephone service in April after Dunavan told investigators March 28 that he poured an alcoholic drink in her face as she slept, put her in a choke hold and threw her into a bed when she tried to leave their apartment on Balsam Avenue in central Boulder, according to a police report.

At the time, Bonsall told officers he threw Dunavan in self-defense because she came athim with a steak knife and cut his arm and face, the report said. She denied allegations that she slashed Bonsall, according to police.

A 2000 graduate of Boulder High School, Bonsall is scheduled to appear in court Aug. 31 for his arraignment.

He was arrested in 2004 on suspicion of drinking and driving after police said he suddenly stopped his gray SUV near the intersection of Broadway and College Avenue in the University Hill neighborhood as a passenger stuck his head out the window and vomited. When police asked how much Bonsall, who was driving, had been drinking, he replied, "Plenty" — a half-pint of Jim Beam, the officer's report said.

His driver's license previously had been revoked for an alcohol offense in 2001.

Bonsall's arrest history also includes two allegations of failure to appear in court for underage drinking in Broomfield and Boulder counties, according to police records.

Following "Family Ties," Bonsall appeared on "Star Trek: The Next Generation," the 1992 movie "Mikey," the 1993 film "Father Hood," and 1994's "Blank Check," among other TV and movie gigs.