Former SD Mayor Filner Gets 3 Months Home Detention, 3 Years Probation

Former Mayor Bob Filner, who pleaded guilty to grabbing and fondling three women while in office, was formally sentenced Monday to three months home detention and three years probation.

Filner apologized to his family, his staff, the citizens of San Diego and the women he offended, saying the behaviors would never be repeated.

The victims were given a chance to address the court but did not.

At today's sentencing, he vowed to "earn back my trust and integrity, no matter how long it takes."

Filner, 71, will avoid jail time though he is expected to spend three months under home confinement.

Filner will be barred from ever seeking or holding public office and required to undergo mental health treatment while under court supervision. He also was fined about $1,500.

"I have already started on that path and am grateful to all those helping me. The letters submitted by my family show the progress they have already seen," he said. "I am confident I will come out of this a better person and I look forward to making future contributions to the city I love."

His home detention is expected to start Jan. 1.

If he violates his probation, he would face up to six months in jail.

The former 10-term congressman pleaded guilty in October to one felony count of false imprisonment and two misdemeanor counts of battery.     Supervising Deputy Attorney General Melissa Mandel told Presiding Judge Robert Trentacosta in October that Filner, while attending a fundraiser with "Jane Doe 1" on March 6, used "greater force than necessary" to restrain her against her will and used additional force to overcome her resistance, in a move that became known as the "Filner headlock."

Mandel said Filner used force and kissed "Jane Doe 2" on the lips without her consent at a "Meet the Mayor" event on April 6.

Filner also admitted grabbing "Jane Doe 3" on the buttocks after she asked to take a picture with him at a May 25 rally at Fiesta Island.

Filner resigned Aug. 30, after nearly 20 women came forward with allegations that he had groped or sexually harassed them over several years.

One of those women was his former communications director, Irene McCormack Jackson, who has filed a sexual harassment lawsuit against him.

Under the plea deal, Filner will have to surrender his mayoral pension accrued from the time of the felony offense—March 6—through his resignation, according to the Attorney General's Office.

—City News Service