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Creepin' Ex-Mayor Filner Avoids Jail Time

by Krystin Arneson

San Diego's disgraced former mayor Bob Filner was sentenced Monday to 90 days' GPS-monitored home confinement, a conviction stemming from three sexual harassment charges that led to his early termination this year. The, 71-year-old Filner will be stripped of the right to run for office again, and will be subject to three years of probation while receiving mental health treatment. Filner plead guilty to a felony false imprisonment charge, as well as to two misdemeanor battery charges as part of a plea bargain announced in October.

Although only three charges appeared in the courtroom, 19 women came forward this summer to report that they'd been harassed by Filner during his tenure as mayor. One of the women, the daughter of one of Filner's supporters, claims he grabbed her while she was having a photo taken. Another says she was forcibly kissed by him at a fundraiser. And then there's the great-grandmother who works the City Hall's senior citizen helpline.

The three women from whom his charges stemmed declined to speak in court and were identified only as Jane Does 1, 2 and 3 on court documents. However, they certainly had someone speaking for them.

“Filner demeaned his victims, he humiliated them, he scared them, he embarrassed them, he sexualized and devalued them and he did all of this with the power and influence of the public office he held,” Supervising Deputy Attorney General Melissa Mandel said in court.

Filner said at his sentencing that he's "made progress" when it comes to making the conscious decision to not grope women's bums.

"To all of you I make the same promise I made to my family," Filner said. "To earn back your trust and my integrity no matter how long it takes."

The court cases aren't over: Filner's former communications director, Irene McCormack Jackson, filed a sexual harassment lawsuit against the former mayor and the city in July.

“He was given enormous power by the citizens of San Diego to do good,” Jackson's attorney, Gloria Allred, said. “Instead, he misused that power and position to take advantage of women in order to fulfill his sexual needs.”

While on probation, Filner will not be allowed to vote, own a firearm, or serve on a jury.