Islam Times - Ex-US Congressman faces prison in 'sexting' case

Islam Times - US prosecutors have sought prison sentence for former US Congressman Anthony Weiner who was found guilty in a federal court for sending obscene messages to a minor, leading to a scandal that played a role in last year's US presidential election.

Federal prosecutors said on Wednesday that Weiner should go to prison for two years for engaging in sexting with a 15-year-old girl.

"Weiner, a grown man, a father, and a former lawmaker, willfully and knowingly asked a 15-year-old girl to display her body and engage in sexually explicit conduct for him online," prosecutors said in a filing in Manhattan federal court.

"Such conduct warrants a meaningful sentence of incarceration."

Weiner came under FBI investigation following the social media report about his online relationship with a teenager from North Carolina.

“I have a sickness, but I do not have an excuse,” Weiner said pleading guilty at a court in May.

The investigation led to the discovery of emails which Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton had sent to Weiner’s wife, Huma Abedin.

He resigned from the US Congress in 2011 after another sexting scandal.

At the time, he apologized, vowed to change his behavior, and launched a bid to be New York’s mayor in 2013.