Anthony Weiner on the day of his sentencing. Photo courtesy of New York Daily News.
Summary: Anthony Weiner was sentenced to almost two years in jail for sexting a minor.
Anthony Weiner was sentenced to 21 months in jail after being found guilty of sending dick pics to a teenager.
The disgraced former politician’s sentence was read by Judge Denise Cote today, according to New York Daily News. Before the amount of jail time was announced, Weiner tearfully confessed that he was a “sick man.”
Weiner must surrender on November 6. He will serve 21 years in prison followed by three years of supervised release. He must also pay a $10,000 fine and register as a sex offender if he hasn’t already.
“I was the adult … if I had done the right thing, I would not be standing before you today,” Weiner said in court.
Before the sentencing, Weiner had admitted that he was a sex addict. The once prominent Democratic politician resigned from his role as New York congressman in 2011 after it was exposed that he had been sending naughty messages online to fans. Weiner’s wife, Huma Abedin, a Hillary Clinton aide, had stuck by her husband during his numerous scandals; but it was the texting to a minor charge that caused her to throw in the towel on their marriage.
In 2017, Abedin filed for divorce. She was not seen in court nor was Weiner’s former allies, the Clintons.
Weiner’s lawyer, Arlo Devlin-Brown, told TMZ that someone in Weiner’s position normally wouldn’t have gotten jail time, but that the judge threw the book at Weiner because he’s famous. TMZ noted however that prosecutors asked for 27 months of jail time and that the maximum penalty was 10 years so maybe Weiner actually got off easy.
Devlin-Brown had argued in court that the 15-year-old Weiner had seduced had actually contacted him first, but the judge dismissed that claim as well as one that the girl had accepted $30,000.
“She is a minor. She is a victim,” Judge Cote said.
Cote seemed to be sympathetic to Weiner’s addiction though, and she said that there are steps being taken to stop him from hurting himself and others–including limiting his use of social media.
“This was a serious crime, and it’s a serious crime that deserves serious punishment,” Cote said. “There’s a uniform opinion by those who have examined him that he is an addict. He has a disease that (includes) sexual compulsivity. Some call it a sex addiction. Steps are being taken … to limit his access to social media.”
Weiner, 53, had first made contact with his teenage love interest in January of 2016. The girl had told Weiner that she was in high school, but he had continued to push for them to have a sexual online relationship.
“With full knowledge that he was communicating with a real 15-year-old girl, the defendant asked her to engage in sexually explicit conduct via Skype and Snapchat, where her body was on display, and where she was asked to sexually perform for him,” prosecutors wrote.
Prosecutors said that during three video chat sessions, Weiner had asked the girl to get naked and touch herself and she had complied.
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