On Monday, former New York congressman Anthony Weiner was sentenced to 21 months in prison for sending explicit texts and photos to a minor, The New York Times reports.
While Weiner had a history of exchanging explicit texts with multiple women while married to former wife Huma Abedin, he was charged with transferring obscene material to a minor after the 15-year-old victim released her story anonymously to the Daily Mail back in September 2016.
Anthony Weiner buried his face in his hands upon hearing his sentence of 21 months in prison https://t.co/no0DJzZQ0V pic.twitter.com/VUuRvhPdP4
— POLITICO (@politico) September 25, 2017
It was during the investigation of Weiner’s sexting scandal that the FBI discovered emails from Abedin, who was a senior aide to Hillary Clinton at the time, on his computer, causing the investigation into Clinton’s emails to be reopened — and many blame the reopening of the investigation for undermining Clinton’s chances in the 2016 presidential election.Â
Before his sentencing, Weiner tearfully told the judge that he accepted responsibility and that he had changed, the Times reports. “I acted not only unlawfully but immorally, and if I had done the right thing, I would not be standing before you today,” he said. “The prosecutors are skeptical that I have truly changed and I don’t blame them. I repeatedly acted in an obviously destructive way when I was caught.”
During the sentencing, prosecutors said that while communicating with the 15-year-old via Skype in early 2016, Weiner, “used graphic and obscene language to ask the minor victim to display her naked body and touch herself, which she did.”
BuzzFeed News reports that Weiner will be forced to surrender himself by November 6, and will be forced to register as a sex offender when he is released.