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Weiner is scheduled to surrender in November.
By Michael V. Cusenza
Former U.S. Rep. Anthony Weiner, once a paragon of progressive politics who relatively recently had a legitimate shot at an extended stay at Gracie Mansion, is now set to spend time in a federal correctional facility as he was sentenced on Monday to 21 months’ imprisonment for transferring obscene material to a minor.
“Anthony Weiner, a former congressman and candidate for mayor, asked a girl who he knew to be 15 years old to display her naked body and engage in sexually explicit behavior for him online. Justice demands that this type of conduct be prosecuted and punished with time in prison,” said Acting Manhattan U.S. Attorney Joon Kim. “Today, Anthony Weiner received a just sentence that was appropriate for his crime.”
According to court records, between January and March 2016, Weiner, 53, used online messaging and video chat applications to communicate with a minor girl he knew to be 15 years old. In the course of those communications, Weiner transferred obscene material to the North Carolina teen, including directions to engage in sexual conduct and sexually explicit images.
Specifically, between Feb. 17 and 23, 2016, Weiner and the girl participated in three video chat sessions on Skype. The teen made clear during those chat sessions that she was not just a minor; she was, in fact, only 15 years old. Nevertheless, Kim noted, during the latter two Skype sessions, on Feb. 18 and 23, and in a Snapchat communication on March 9, Weiner used graphic and obscene language to ask the girl to display her naked body and touch herself, which she did. He also sent an obscene message to the victim on Confide, describing what he would do to her if she were 18. As part of these criminal exchanges, the defendant also sent the girl adult pornography, or a link thereto, the U.S. Attorney said. In approximately March 2016, after several months of intermittent exchanges, communications between the defendant and the teen largely stopped.
Weiner addressed the court in May when he pleaded guilty to one count of transferring obscenity to a minor.
“This fall, I came to grips for the first time with the depths of my sickness. I had hit bottom. I entered intensive treatment, found the strength to take a moral inventory of my defects, and began a program of recovery and mental health treatment that I continue to follow every day,” he said. “I accept full responsibility for my conduct. I have a sickness, but I do not have an excuse. I apologize to everyone I have hurt. I apologize to the teenage girl, whom I mistreated so badly. I am committed to making amends to all those I have harmed. Thank you.”
In addition to the prison term, Weiner, who resided in Forest Hills for many years, was sentenced to three years of supervised release.
“This is a serious crime that deserves serious punishment,” said U.S. District Judge Denise Cote prior to sentencing Weiner.
The disgraced former pol must surrender to federal prison officials by Monday, Nov. 6 – the day before Election Day.
