Former San Diego Mayor Bob Filner was sentenced Monday to 90 days in home confinement, three years probation, and a series of fines totaling about $1500 as part of a plea deal.
The 71-year-old pleaded guilty in October to kissing or grabbing three women at campaign events or at City Hall — one a felony false imprisonment charge, the other two misdemeanor battery charges.
The three women were among 19 who accused him of offensive behavior during his tenure as mayor and as a congressman.
Filner will not serve prison time.
GPS monitoring will track his whereabouts during his confinement. He’ll be allowed to go out for medical and therapy appointments, religious services, and meetings tied to his probation. He’ll also be allowed to leave his apartment but stay within the apartment complex.
“I want to apologize to my family who have stood by me during this ordeal, to my loyal staff and supporters, to the citizens of San Diego, and most sincerely to the women I have hurt and offended,” Filner said in prepared remarks at the start of the hearing.
“To all of you I make the same promise I made to my family: to earn back your trust and my integrity no matter how long it takes and no matter what I have to do. I’ve already started on my path and I am grateful to all those who are helping me.”
But the prosecution said Filner’s behavior harmed the women and the city. Referring to the three women as Jane Does 1, 2, and 3, the state said Filner humiliated, scared, embarrassed, sexualized and devalued them.
Prosecutors also noted that after taking part in two weeks of treatment earlier this year, Filner still denied his crimes “and insisted that he was the victim of a lynch mob.”
Filner’s attorneys said they did not dispute any of the facts stated by the prosecution.
None of the victims chose to be in court for the sentencing.
The felony charge said Filner used force to restrain a woman at a fund-raising event March 6. The misdemeanor charges say he kissed a woman on the lips without her consent at City Hall on April 6 and grabbed a woman’s buttock after she asked to have her picture taken with him at a rally on May 25.
Filner was elected mayor in November 2012 after serving in Congress for 20 years.
After veering between contrition and defiance, he resigned August 30. He offered a “deep apology” but also said he was the victim of the “hysteria of a lynch mob.”
Under the plea deal, which was announced in October, Filner would be prohibited from ever seeking or holding public office again, the attorney general’s office said. Filner also would not be able to vote, serve on a jury or own a firearm while on probation.
Filner also will have to give up pension credit for his time in the mayor’s office after March 6, the date of the first offense.