Actor Felicity Huffman is due to appear in a Boston federal court Friday afternoon to learn her fate after pleading guilty in the college cheating scandal. Huffman is potentially facing 30 days in jail.
People Magazine is reporting that the Desperate Housewives actor will serve one month behind bars if prosecutors have their way. Prosecutors recommend that she serve one month in prison, 12 years of supervised release, and pay a $20,000 fine. Her lawyers are asking that she pay the fine and get one year of probation for her part in the college admissions scandal.
Huffman, 56, will face the judge in the Massachusetts courtroom at 2:30 p.m. local time on September 13, who will determine the outcome for the actor.
In the charges, it was alleged that Huffman paid $15,000 to admissions consultant Rick Singer and his company, Key Worldwide Foundation, which was reportedly set up as a charity. But KWF was allegedly an entity for taking bribes related to college admissions. Reportedly, Singer, through his company, then moved to have Huffman’s daughter’s SAT test corrected by a proctor after the fact.
After admitting her guilt in the matter, Huffman wrote a letter to the court saying that she paid the $15,000 in an effort to be “a good mother.”
The actor continued, saying that her daughter had struggled with a learning disability, and she was trying to level the playing field for her to get into USC.
“I talked myself into believing that all I was doing was giving my daughter a fair shot.”
A source close to Huffman said that the actor plans to take her punishment, but she is taking this time to repair her relationship with her daughter and her family, as she is ashamed of her behavior.
Legal expert, Los Angeles criminal defense attorney J. Tooson, doubts that Huffman will serve any time behind bars.
“That is such a nominal amount of time, the prosecutors are sending a signal to the judge [that they’re OK with] the judge placing her on probation without imposing jail time.”
But if Huffman does have to serve 30 days behind bars, actor and activist Tommy Chong says it isn’t too bad, reported The Inquisitr .
Chong, who went to federal prison for selling bongs and other marijuana paraphernalia through the mail, posted an open letter to Huffman to let her know that going to federal prison isn’t the end of the world. He suggested that she take the time to write, as they will provide her with a computer and a clean workspace.