Well, there you have it. This is what happens when you come clean, admit your crime, and show genuine remorse.
Felicity Huffman‘s sentence for her role in the college admissions scandal has been handed down.
Prosecutors recommended one month in prison and a $20,000 fine. In response to Huffman’s letter to the court expressing her desire to help her daughter, U.S. Attorney Eric Rosen said during Friday’s hearing:
“With all due respect to the defendant, welcome to parenthood. There’s no instruction manual. Parenthood is exhausting and stressful, but that’s what every parent goes through… Most parents have the moral compass and integrity not to step over the line. The defendant did not.”
Damn. He’s got a point. He said prison time was necessary because Huffman committed a “considered, deliberate, and purposeful criminal act.”
Her lawyer asked for one year of probation and community service, arguing that — and the public shame — was punishment enough. He also implied the government was treating her harshly because she was rich and famous. *enormous eye roll*
Related: Did Eva Longoria Shade Teri Hatcher In Her Letter To Felicity Huffman’s Judge?
Finally Huffman herself addressed the judge, apologizing to her family and tearfully recounting how guilty she felt driving her daughter to the testing center that day:
“I remember thinking: turn around, just turn around. To my eternal shame, I didn’t.”
She concluded by throwing herself on the mercy of the court, saying:
“I was frightened, I was stupid, and I was so wrong. I am deeply ashamed of what I’ve done. I take full responsibility for my actions. I will deserve whatever punishment you give me.”
What the judge decided was…
14 days in jail, a fine of $30,000, a year of supervised release, and 250 hours of community service.
So the judge kind of split the difference, saying simply:
“Trying to be a good mother doesn’t excuse this.”
All in all a fairly light sentence — when you consider what others are looking at…
And with that, Huffman has become the first parent sentenced in the massive national college admissions scandal.
Back in March, the FBI uncovered a ring of bribery and fraud in which parents were paying off officials to lie, cheat, and steal to help their children get into college. “Operation Varsity Blues” resulted in 50 arrests, but two have continued to get all the press.
As beloved TV stars, Huffman and Lori Loughlin quickly became the faces of the college admissions scandal — and have continued to tell us two very different stories with their responses.
Felicity was accused of paying $15,000 to a high school guidance counselor who served as a proctor on eldest daughter Sofia‘s SAT; he then took her test and touched it up before mailing it off, scoring her some extra points (apparently a 400 point increase from her previous test).
The Desperate Housewives actress was among the first to come clean, pleading guilty and making a full public apology way back in April — less than a month after the scandal broke. She said:
“I am in full acceptance of my guilt, and with deep regret and shame over what I have done, I accept full responsibility for my actions and will accept the consequences that stem from those actions.
I am ashamed of the pain I have caused my daughter, my family, my friends, my colleagues and the educational community. I want to apologize to them and, especially, I want to apologize to the students who work hard every day to get into college, and to their parents who make tremendous sacrifices to support their children and do so honestly.”
Meanwhile Lori has gone the exact opposite way.
She and husband Mossimo Giannulli were accused of paying USC officials $500,000 to fake their daughters’ participation on the school’s crew team in order to get conditional acceptance.
Unlike Huffman, Lori and her hubby pleaded not guilty, and even incurred another felony charge for the money laundering aspect of their alleged crime. The couple are now facing the possibility of as much as 20 years in prison.
It seems to us they have no shot at getting an acquittal — considering the feds flipped the middleman in the scam first, and he got everyone on tape admitting to the crime — but we’ll have to wait and see.
Which path would YOU have taken, Perezcious readers??
[Image via Sheri Determan/WENN.]
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