Page 4 - aruba-today-20170520

A4 U.S. NEWS
Saturday 20 May 2017
Weiner pleads guilty in sexting case, could go to prison

LARRY NEUMEISTER Pleading to the charge, wiped his eyes with tissues.
Associated Press which requires him to regis- Weiner was already in fed-
TOM HAYS ter as a sex offender, could eral custody ahead of the
Associated Press bring a sentence of up to hearing, which lasted less
NEW YORK (AP) — Former 10 years. than half an hour. After-
U.S. Rep. Anthony Wein- But Weiner is likely to serve ward, he shook hands with
er, whose penchant for much less time if he is sen- prosecutors, telling them:
sexting strangers ended tenced to prison. “Thanks, guys. I appreciate
his political career and In a plea agreement with your service.”
sparked a probe that up- prosecutors, he agreed He then went down the
ended the presidential not to appeal any sen- courthouse elevator sur-
race, pleaded guilty Friday tence between 21 and 27 rounded by his lawyers
to a sex charge, tearfully months in prison. His lawyer and court officers and left
apologizing for communi- can request leniency at a the building. He said noth-
cations with a 15-year-old sentencing scheduled for ing to reporters. His wife,
girl that he said destroyed Former U.S. Rep. Anthony Weiner leaves Federal court, Friday, Sept. 8. Huma Abedin, was not in
his “life’s dream in public May 19, 2017, in New York. In a written plea agree- court.
service.” Associated Press ment, prosecutors said Abedin, a top aide to
Weiner, who could go to aggravating factors such Democratic presidential
prison, pleaded guilty to ing explicit images and en- mer Democratic congress- as the age of the victim candidate Hillary Clinton
a single count of transmit- couraging her to engage in man paused repeatedly as would have called for a last year, separated from
ting obscene material to sexually explicit conduct.” he fought back tears and prison sentence of up to Weiner in September af-
a minor. He admitted ex- “I have a sickness, but I do tried to compose himself. 14 years under sentencing ter revelations he had sent
changing online messages not have an excuse,” he He said he knew the texting guidelines were it not for more sexually charged
with the girl beginning in said. was “as morally wrong as it the plea bargain and a 10- messages online.
January 2015 and “shar- In court, the 52-year-old for- was unlawful.” year maximum penalty on That same month, the FBI
the charge. began investigating Wein-
Wearing his wedding ring er after the North Carolina
and a dark blue suit with girl told the news website
a maroon tie, Weiner read DailyMail.com that she and
from a prepared statement Weiner had exchanged
after U.S. District Judge Lo- lewd messages for several
retta A. Preska addressed months.
him: “Tell me what you did, She also accused him of
sir.” asking her to undress on
He said he “compulsive- camera. Phone messages
ly sought attention from left Friday with the North
women who contacted Carolina girl’s father were
me on social media” be- not immediately returned.
ginning with his service in As part of his plea, Weiner
Congress and continuing agreed to forfeit his iPhone.
through the first half of last In a statement, attorney
year. Arlo Devlin-Brown said his
“I engaged with many of client had “apologized,
them in both sexual and offered no excuses and
nonsexual conversation,” made a commitment to
he said. “These destruc- make amends.” He said
tive impulses brought great the plea agreement re-
devastation to my family flected a resolution “on
and friends and destroyed terms far less severe than
my life’s dream in public could have been sought”
service. Yet I remained in because the circumstanc-
denial even as the world es lacked the kind of ag-
around me fell apart.” gravating factors often
Weiner said he began get- present in similar cases.
ting mental health treat- He added that Weiner re-
ment in the fall, when he mains “focused on his re-
said he “came to grips covery.”
for the first time with the In a release, acting Man-
depths of my sickness.” He hattan U.S. Attorney Joon
said he continues to follow Kim called Weiner’s con-
the treatment daily. duct “reprehensible,” say-
“I had hit bottom,” he said. ing he sent sexually explicit
“Through treatment I found images and directions to
the courage to take a engage in sexual conduct
moral inventory of my de- to a girl he knew was 15.
fects.” The investigation led FBI
Weiner apologized to “ev- agents to seize his laptop
eryone I have hurt,” includ- computer, which led to the
ing the girl he “mistreated discovery of a new cache
so badly.” of emails that Clinton had
Finished speaking, he sent to Abedin.q