Weiner gets 21 months in prison for sexting

Associated Press

NEW YORK

Anthony Weiner’s sexting compulsion cost him his seat in Congress, his shot at becoming New York mayor and his marriage, and may have even denied Hillary Clinton the presidency. On Monday, it cost him his freedom.

Weiner, 53, dropped his head into his hands and wept as a federal judge sentenced him to 21 months behind bars for illicit online contact with a 15-year-old girl, his tears flowing long after the gavel came down on a case he called his “rock bottom.”

As his parents looked on in the courtroom, the New York Democrat was given until Nov. 6 to report to prison for misconduct that included getting the high school student to strip and touch herself on Skype and Snapchat.

In handing down the sentence, U.S. District Judge Denise Cote cited a need in such a highly publicized case to “make a statement that can protect other minors.”

Calling himself “a very sick man for a very long time,” Weiner apologized to the teen and sought to assure the judge he had finally learned his lesson. He has been undergoing therapy.