This time four years ago, disgraced Congressman Anthony Weiner had just lost the Democratic primary in his bid to be the next New York City mayor, winning just 5 percent of the vote.
Fast forward to 2017, and Weiner is on his way to prison after being slapped with a 21-month prison sentence for sexting and Skype-ing with a 15-year-old girl. The illicit behavior, many say, contributed to Hillary Clinton losing the race for presidency last year.
Reports indicate that during his sentencing this week, Weiner, 53, was crying in the courtroom over going to prison. His attorneys have said that he suffered from a sexual addiction that got out of control and that he was getting help.
“We are of course disappointed that Anthony was sentenced to prison, particularly so given that Judge [Denise] Cote found that the treatment program Anthony had engaged in for the past year was showing great promise and should be continued,” Weiner’s attorney, Arlo Devlin-Brown, said in a statement.
In addition to prison time, Weiner was sentenced to three years of supervised release and has to register as a sex offender, according to reports. He has to surrender by Nov. 6.
News broke online Wednesday that Weiner was reportedly frightened about going to prison and being labeled a pedophile. Fearing he could be the target of prison violence, lawyers pleaded with the judge to send him to the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn. He could also go to Otisville Correctional Facility in upstate New York.
In September of last year in the midst of the presidential election, Weiner’s devices were being investigated over the allegations of his contact with the 15-year-old. Emails connected to Clinton’s email controversy were discovered on a laptop he owned, leading to an FBI investigation. Weiner’s now ex-wife Huma Abedin was vice chair to Clinton’s campaign.
Another woman who alleges she had sexually explicit communication with Weiner has come forward this week. In an online interview, 22-year-old Kathryn Isaac said Weiner contacted her via Twitter and the two exchanged X-rated messages for a month last year.
She alleges Weiner asked her for a face-to-face meeting at a Manhattan bar. Weiner said that he was separated from his wife at the time.
Weiner’s sexting woes began in 2011 while he was a Congressman when he sent a link of a sexually explicit photograph of himself via his public Twitter account to a woman. The scandal led to Weiner’s resignation.
In 2013, during his mayoral campaign, another woman claimed she received sexually explicit photos from Weiner. Three years later, photos Weiner exchanged with another woman surfaced, including sending one picture while lying in bed shirtless with his son.