This article is from the source 'nytimes' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.

You can find the current article at its original source at https://www.nytimes.com/2019/05/14/nyregion/anthony-weiner-free.html

The article has changed 4 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.

Version 1 Version 2
Anthony Weiner Released After Serving 18 Months for Sexting Teenager Anthony Weiner Released After Serving 18 Months for Sexting Teenager
(about 4 hours later)
[What you need to know to start the day: Get New York Today in your inbox.][What you need to know to start the day: Get New York Today in your inbox.]
Released from a halfway house in the Bronx on Tuesday morning, Anthony D. Weiner, the former Democratic congressman whose political career crashed after multiple sexting scandals, told reporters, “I hope to be able to live a life of integrity and service.” Anthony D. Weiner, the former New York congressman, walked out of a halfway house on Tuesday morning after his release from federal custody and told reporters, “I hope to be able to live a life of integrity and service.”
Mr. Weiner then walked away, released after serving 18 months of a 21-month federal prison sentence he received in 2017 for sending sexually explicit texts to a minor. It was an optimistic note for a once-brash politician who was a rising Democratic star until multiple sexting scandals ended his political career, strained his marriage and, ultimately, got him sent to federal prison.
Despite his fall from grace, Mr. Weiner sounded hopeful after serving 18 months of a 21-month sentence that he received in 2017 for sending sexually explicit texts to a minor.
“I am glad to be getting back to my family,” Mr. Weiner, 54, said, according to video posted by Fox News. He added, “I’m glad this chapter of my life is behind me.”“I am glad to be getting back to my family,” Mr. Weiner, 54, said, according to video posted by Fox News. He added, “I’m glad this chapter of my life is behind me.”
Mr. Weiner’s immediate plans and destination were unclear. One of his lawyers, Arlo Devlin-Brown, confirmed Mr. Weiner’s release but declined to comment further. Mr. Weiner’s immediate plans were unclear. In an email, he declined to comment further on his future.
In April, as his sentence neared its end, Mr. Weiner was designated a Level 1 sex offender by a judge in the Bronx. The designation, one of three given to offenders in New York State, marked Mr. Weiner as posing a low risk of repeating his offense. Though he has served his court-ordered prison term, the consequences of Mr. Weiner’s lewd messages will continue to hang over him.
Under the designation, Mr. Weiner must register as a sex offender for 20 years. He will be required to verify his address every year, and he must report to the police to have a picture taken every three years, according to state regulations. As part of his sentence, Mr. Weiner was ordered to register as a sex offender. In April, with his release date approaching, he was designated a Level 1 sex offender by a judge in the Bronx. The classification, the lowest of three levels given to offenders in New York State, marked Mr. Weiner as posing a low risk of repeating his offense.
As Mr. Weiner is a Level 1 offender, his address will not be made available to the public, though the ZIP code of his residence will be. His information will not appear in the state’s online sex offender database but will be available by phone. Under the designation, Mr. Weiner must register as a sex offender for 20 years. He will be required to verify his address every year with a state agency, and he must report every three years to the local police to have his picture taken, according to state regulations.
The former congressman’s time in prison stemmed from a federal investigation into messages he exchanged with a 15-year-old girl in North Carolina in 2016. Prosecutors said he sent sexually explicit photos to the girl over Snapchat and Skype. Like most people convicted of online sex crimes, Mr. Weiner will also likely have his electronic devices and internet use monitored as part of his federal probation, said Elizabeth Jeglic, a professor at John Jay College of Criminal Justice.
Mr. Weiner ultimately pleaded guilty in May 2017 to one count of transferring obscene material to a minor, a felony. “This will probably be with Mr. Weiner for the rest of his life,’’ she said.
“I engaged in obscene communications with this teenager,” he said in court at the time. The messages included ones “encouraging her to engage in sexually explicit conduct,” he said. Unlike higher-level sex offenders, Mr. Weiner’s information about his offense and his ZIP code of residence will not be included on the state’s online sex offender database. The information will be available by calling a toll-free number.
Mr. Weiner was sentenced to 21 months in September 2017 and entered federal custody that November. After serving 15 months of his 21-month sentence, he was transferred from a federal prison in Massachusetts to a halfway house in New York City in February. Of course, there is already plenty of information available online about Mr. Weiner’s past.
With his release on Tuesday, he will have spent 18 months in federal custody. Under his sentence, he is expected to face three years of supervised release. He has been a fixture of tabloid headlines since he first became involved in a sexting scandal in 2011.
Mr. Weiner was also ordered to pay a $10,000 fine and register as a sex offender as part of his sentence. Mr. Weiner, who at the time was a congressman from Brooklyn, was caught sending a sexually suggestive photo of his underwear-clad lower half to a college student who followed him on Twitter.
The investigation into Mr. Weiner was not the first time that Mr. Weiner had been caught in a sexting scandal. In 2011, Mr. Weiner admitted to sending a sexually suggestive photo of himself in underwear to a college student and having inappropriate online conversations with at least six other women. After initially denying his involvement, Mr. Weiner ultimately admitted having sent the photo and having inappropriate online conversations with at least six other women. The fallout led to him resigning from Congress after 12 years in office. He apologized and swore to change his behavior.
The controversy and fallout ultimately led him to resign from Congress after 12 years in office. Then in 2013, Mr. Weiner, presenting himself as a changed man, attempted a political comeback. He launched a campaign to be New York City's mayor and, improbably, climbed to the top of the polls.
The success proved short-lived when Mr. Weiner was caught in another sexting scandal. This time, he admitted to exchanging more lewd messages with other women — some sent under the adopted persona “Carlos Danger” — after he left Congress and after the birth of his son with his wife, Huma Abedin, a longtime aide to Hillary Clinton.
The revelations hobbled his campaign and Mr. Weiner received just under 5 percent of the votes in the Democratic primary.
The drama of the ill-fated campaign — and the strain Mr. Weiner’s indiscretions put on Ms. Abedin — was captured in a documentary, “Weiner,” that was released in 2016.
At the time, Ms. Abedin was a top aide to Mrs. Clinton in her presidential campaign. Just months after the film came out, the controversy that led to Mr. Weiner’s conviction would brush up against Mrs. Clinton’s bid for the presidency.
In September 2016, federal officials revealed they were investigating messages that Mr. Weiner exchanged with a 15-year-old girl in North Carolina that same year. Prosecutors said he sent sexually explicit photos to the girl over Snapchat and Skype.
During the investigation, the F.B.I. found emails belonging to Ms. Abedin on Mr. Weiner’s laptop. The discovery led the F.B.I. director at the time, James B. Comey, to announce the bureau was reopening its inquiry into Mrs. Clinton’s handling of official emails — an investigation that Mrs. Clinton has partly blamed for her election loss.
As for Mr. Weiner, he ultimately pleaded guilty in May 2017 to one count of transferring obscene material to a minor, a felony.
That same month, Ms. Abedin filed for divorce. The couple eventually withdrew the divorce case, saying they preferred to work on their relationship issues privately.
Mr. Weiner was sentenced in September 2017 and entered federal custody that November. After serving 15 months, he was transferred in February from a federal prison in Massachusetts to a halfway house in New York City.
After his release on Tuesday, Mr. Weiner was expected to face three years of supervised release.