Anthony Weiner given 21 months in prison for sexting teenager

JAIL — A closeup of the lock of a brick jail cell with iron bars and a key Reuters/File

Former New York congressman and mayoral candidate Anthony Weiner was sentenced on Monday to 21 months in prison after he pleaded guilty of transferring obscene material to a 15-year-old girl. He is reportedly asked to report to prison by November 6 to start serving his sentence.

According to prosecutors, Weiner broke the law by having illicit contact with a minor. He reportedly asked the teenager to “sexually perform” for him in conversations on Snapchat and Skype.

The estranged husband of Hillary Clinton aide, Huma Abedin, tearfully said he had been “a very sick man for a very long time” as he pleaded with the judge to be spared from prison. He also said he was profoundly sorry.

“The crime I committed was my rock bottom - I live a different and better life today,” he said. Weiner dropped his head into his hand and wept as his sentence was announced. He sat in his seat after the hearing ended and Judge Denise Cote left the bench, The Guardian reports. The former congressman continued to cry.

Weiner must undergo internet monitoring and enrol in a sex-offender treatment program after his sentence is served. He also must not have any contact with his victim.

Cote said Weiner had shown “no evidence of deviant interest in teenagers or minors” before she announced the sentence. Weiner, she said, was receiving effective treatment for what she had described as “sexual hyperactivity.”

Amanda Kramer, the assistant US attorney, said Weiner must be given a significant prison sentence to end his “tragic cycle” of sexting, which has also become an issue during last year’s presidential election. Some blamed his sexting for Clinton’s lose in the presidential election. Weiner’s contact with the minor was being investigated by the FBI when it reportedly came across emails on his laptop between Abedin and Clinton, which prompted then-director James Comey to reopen the investigation of Clinton’s use of a private computer server days before the election.

In "What Happened," Clinton said Abedin burst into tears when he learned that her husband’s case had prompted Comey’s so-called “October surprise.”Abedin is quoted as saying, “This man is going to be the death of me.”

Weiner reportedly wore his wedding ring to court, despite him and Abedin going through divorce proceedings. It is believed his sexting also ended his career in the US House of Representatives in 2011 and ruined his campaign for mayor in 2013.