Loading ...Former New York congressman Anthony Weiner has tearfully pleaded guilty to sending obscene material to a minor.
The charge stems from sexually charged text messages he exchanged with a 15-year-old girl last year.
Weiner, 52, stepped down from his congressional seat in 2011 over a sex scandal and was again exposed during his 2013 bid for New York mayor.
He must register as a sex offender and faces a possible prison term.
Weiner’s estranged wife Huma Abedin filed for divorce from him on Friday, according to New York media.
He entered his plea earlier in the day at a Manhattan court and was released on bail, pending sentencing on 8 September.
As part of his plea agreement, federal prosecutors said they would consider a term between 21-27 months “fair and appropriate”.
Weiner cried in court as he said: “I have a sickness, but I don’t have an excuse.”
He acknowledged it was “morally wrong” and unlawful to have knowingly sent obscene messages between January and March last year to a North Carolina girl whom he knew to be 15 years old.