Former San Diego Mayor Bob Filner Pleads Guilty to False Imprisonment
Former San Diego mayor Bob Filner pleaded guilty Tuesday morning to three criminal charges related to the sexual harassment allegations that led to his resignation two months ago. Filner admitted committing one felony count of false imprisonment “by violence, fraud, menace, and deceit” and two counts of misdemeanor battery.
The charges stem from three events this year. From U-T San Diego:
On March 6, he used force to overcome the resistance of a woman at a fundraiser, violating her liberty. This incident resulted in the felony charge.
On April 6, he kissed a woman on the lips at a one of his "Meet the Mayor" events for the public, resulting in one battery charge.
On May 25, he went to a Fiesta Island rally and clean-up, and when a woman posed with him for a photo, he touched her rear end, resulting in the second battery charge.
Before he resigned from office in August, at least 17 women accused Filner of sexual harassment, including a great-grandmother and the nurse of a disabled Iraq veteran. In addition to allegations that he inappropriately groped and kissed his female coworkers, Filner allegedly told a female staffer in an elevator "that women employees would do better 'if they worked without their panties on.'" The former mayor was also reportedly fond of something called the "Filner headlock," where he would "place his arm around [a former staffer's] neck and drag her around 'like a rag doll, while he whispered sexual comments' into her ear."
Sentencing is set to take place December 9. It's expected that Filner will serve three months of home confinement but no prison or jail time.