Is Erica Jackson the lucky lady next in line to steal the heart of alleged woman-abuser, Chris Brown?

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Brown, who was arrested after allegedly beating up 21-year-old singer Rihanna, has reportedly been rekindling his romance with Ms. Jackson over the past few weeks. According to sources, Chris and Erica grew up in the same city and even dated for a brief period of time when they were younger.

"[Chris and Erica] met in Virginia, where he’s from,” a friend of Brown told reporters. "They dated back in the day and reconnected a few weeks ago when Chris was in town. They’ve been spending a lot of time together, but things only really heated up over the last two weeks.”

Friends of the duo claim that Erica is down-to-earth and simple, although the photo above imply otherwise.

Chris, 19, is said to be in counseling after the alleged beating. Hopefully this relationship has a better ending than his last.

But while gossip sites are quick to report a spark between Erica and Chris, Brown was quick to shoot down the speculation - insisting he's not dating Erica and wasn't seen with her the past few weeks.

A rep for the singer had the following to say about the rumors:

“He [Chris] did go to a tattoo parlor with someone from the studio named Dean. There was a woman there who was a friend of Dean. There is no truth to this at all. Chris does not know the woman nor does he know the name of the woman.”

Are we supposed to Brown's story? I mean, he's not exactly the poster boy for honest behavior lately, right.

Do you think Erica Jackson and Chris Brown are dating?

*Click photos to enlarge

Update: Many gossip sites are now claiming that the woman in these photos is Girlicious singer Natalie Mejia, not Erica Jackson. Take a look at the photos below and let us know if you think the girl in the photos with Chris is actually Natalie:

*Click photos to enlarge