American politician, Anthony Weiner, sobbed as the judge sentenced him to 21 months in prison for his sexting habit. He had pleaded guilty in May to one count of transferring obscene material to a minor.
“I acted not only unlawfully but immorally, and if I had done the right thing, I would not be standing before you today,” Weiner said. He said that he repeatedly acted in an obviously destructive way even when he was caught.
The federal investigation against the Democrat started when a 15-year-old told her story in a Daily Mail article in September 2016.
Weiner has been given till November 6 to report to prison. His misconduct included getting the 15-year-old to strip over Skype
The judge said that his habit of exchanging sexually explicit messages with young women showed a strong compulsion.
Weiner apologised to the teen, and said that he is undergoing therapy.
"I stand before you because I victimised a young person who deserved better," he said.
"Your honour, I'm not asking that you trust that my recovery is real. I ask you for the opportunity to prove that it is real."
Despite his apologies, the prosecutor said that he should be given a significant prison sentence so that his tragic cycle of sexting could end.
His habit led Weiner to resign from Congress in 2011. It also made him give up his race for mayor in 2013. It prompted the then FBI director James Comey to announce that he would reopen the probe of Hillary Clinton using a private computer, after emails between Weiner’s then wife and Clinton were found on his computer.
Werner’s wife has since filed for divorce. He has also now been fined $10,000. Over the years, he had exchanged thousands of messages with women.
“Despite two very public disclosures and the destruction of his career on two occasions, he continued with the activity,” said the judge.
The fact that the girl was the one who had initiated the contact was irrelevant, since she was a minor.
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Picture Credit: NBC
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