ABC/Image Group LA(NEW YORK) — Actress Felicity Huffman was released from prison Friday after serving time for her involvement in the college admissions scandal.
She served 11 days of an initial 14-day sentence, with her early release coming because of a Bureau of Prisons rule that allows for early release when the original end date is set to happen over a weekend or holiday. The Bureau of Prisons reports that her scheduled release date was set for Sunday, Oct. 27.
The “Desperate Housewives” star was sentenced to jail time as well as an order to pay a $30,000 fine, complete 250 hours of community service and serve one year of probation. These penalties came as a result of her guilty plea to fraud and conspiracy after paying someone $15,000 to correct and improve her daughter’s SAT exam.
Huffman, 56, was the first parent to be sentenced following her guilty plea to one count of conspiracy to commit mail fraud.
At sentencing, Huffman apologized.
“I am deeply sorry to the students, parents, colleges, and universities who have been impacted by my actions,” Huffman said. “I am sorry to my daughter Sophia, my daughter Georgia, and I am sorry to my husband Bill. I have betrayed them all.”
Federal prosecutors accused Huffman of stepping over a moral line for which she deserved prison time despite her request to avoid it.
“In prison, there is no paparazzi,” assistant US attorney Eric Rosen said. “In prison, everyone is treated the same. Everyone wears the same clothes and is subject to the same rules. Prison, as we’ve pointed out, is the great leveler. Prison is necessary here.”
Huffman said she was “deeply ashamed” of her conduct and recounted for the judge a conversation with her daughter after she was charged.
“She said to me, ‘I don’t know who you are anymore, mom.’ And then she asked me, ‘Why didn’t you believe in me? Why didn’t you think I could do it on my own?’ I had no adequate answer for her. There is no adequate answer. I can only say I am so sorry, Sophia. I was frightened. I was stupid, and I was so wrong.”
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