Anthony Weiner Begins Prison Sentence For Teen Sexting

NEW YORK, NY — Disgraced former congressman Anthony Weiner will begin a 21-month-long prison sentence on Monday after he was convicted of "sexting" a 15-year-old girl.

The former New York City council member and U.S. congressman pleaded guilty in May to charges that he transferred obscene material to a minor. Prosecutors said Weiner "asked a girl who he knew to be 15 years old to display her naked body and engage in sexually explicit behavior for him online."

In September, a judge sentenced him to serve 21 months in federal prison plus pay a $10,000 fine and be subject to three years of supervised release. Weiner was ordered to surrender himself to authorities on Monday, and is serving his sentence at Devens Federal Medical Center in Massachusetts, the Associated Press reported. The Bureau of Prisons confirmed to Patch that Weiner had begun his sentence there.

The Democratic politician had been ensnared in multiple sex scandals, both before and after he resigned from Congress, before his admitted conduct with a teenager resulted in federal charges. This most recent implosion got wrapped in the drama surrounding the 2016 presidential election because Weiner's estranged wife, Huma Abedin, served as a close adviser to Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton. James Comey, the former FBI director, announced in October 2016 that he was re-opening an investigation into Clinton's use of a private computer server as Secretary of State after emails between Clinton and Abedin were found on Weiner's laptop. Comey later said there was no new information about Clinton in the emails.

Weiner and Abedin are currently in the middle of getting a divorce.

Weiner's defense attorney has said that the 53-year-old was found to be "highly compulsive in sexual behaviors" by a doctor and that he was seeking treatment. Weiner cried on the stand during his sentencing hearing, apologizing for his past conduct as he said he had been "a very sick man for a very long time."

Watch: Anthony Weiner begins 21 month prison sentence

Image credit: Eduardo Munoz Alvarez / Stringer / Getty Images. Photo caption: Former Democratic Congressman Anthony Weiner (C) exits federal court in Manhattan after pleading guilty in sexting case on May 19, 2017 in New York City. Weiner, who resigned from Congress over a sexting scandal, pleaded guilty on friday to federal charges of transmitting sexual material to a minor and could face a prison term.