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NEW YORK — Former U.S. Rep. Anthony Weiner was sentenced Monday to 21 months in prison for sexting with a 15-year-old girl in a case that rocked Hillary Clinton’s campaign for the White House in the closing days of the race and might have jeopardized her bid for the presidency.

Weiner, 53, dropped his head into his hand and wept as U.S. District Judge Denise Cote handed down the sentence. After the hearing ended and the judge left the bench, Weiner sat in his seat for several minutes, continuing to cry.

In pleading with the judge to be spared from prison, the former congressman tearfully said he was “a very sick man for a very long time.”

“I am profoundly sorry,” he said, reading from a page in front of him. “The crime I committed was my rock bottom. … I live a different and better life today.”

The sentencing completed the sordid downfall of the New York Democrat whose penchant for exchanging lewd messages and photos with young women destroyed his congressional career in 2011, doomed his 2013 run for mayor of New York, and wrecked his marriage to Clinton’s closest aide, Huma Abedin, as his case became entangled in the 2016 presidential campaign.

Weiner pleaded guilty in May to transferring obscene material to a minor — punishable by up to 10 years in prison — for his illicit contact with a North Carolina teenager. Prosecutors said he sent her porn and got her to take her clothes off and touch herself on Skype.

In imposing sentence, the judge cited a need in such a highly publicized case to “make a statement that can protect other minors.”

Cote noted that Weiner repeatedly got caught sexting and said that while he has made “great strides” in treatment, “the difficulty here is that this is a very strong compulsion.”

Federal prosecutor Amanda Kramer had urged Cote to give Weiner a significant prison sentence to end his “tragic cycle” of sexting.

Weiner wore his wedding ring to court. His parents were in the courtroom but not his wife. He and Abedin, who have a 5-year-old, are going through divorce proceedings.

Weiner said nothing as he left the courthouse. He must report to prison by Nov. 6.

He also was fined $10,000. After his sentence is served, he must undergo internet monitoring and enroll in a sex-offender treatment program.

Former Congressman Anthony Weiner, D-N.Y., arrives at federal court in New York City on Monday for his sentencing hearing in a sexting scandal. (AP Photo | Mark Lennihan)
https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/09/web1_nu-weiner-1.jpg.optimal.jpgFormer Congressman Anthony Weiner, D-N.Y., arrives at federal court in New York City on Monday for his sentencing hearing in a sexting scandal. (AP Photo | Mark Lennihan)

Associated Press