The criminal case names three Jane Does as victims. Filner pleads guilty to felony

Former San Diego Mayor Bob Filner pleaded guilty to felony false imprisonment and two misdemeanor battery charges as part of a plea deal announced Tuesday.

Filner, a former 10-term Democratic congressman, appeared in court to offer his pleas. Accusations that he sexually harassed at least 17 women rocked the San Diego political scene this summer until Filner, 71, resigned in August.


“This conduct was not only criminal, it was also an extreme abuse of power,” said California Attorney General Kamala Harris in a statement. “This prosecution is about consequence and accountability. No one is above the law.”

The deal specifies faces three years of probation and three months of “home confinement,” the loss of a partial year of his pension, and probationary requirements including mental health treatment, according to the attorney general’s office.

( QUIZ: Do you know Bob Filner?)

The judge in Tuesday’s hearing said Filner would be due in court for sentencing on Dec. 9. Fines will be determined then, the attorney general’s office said.

The complaint released by the attorney general’s office on Tuesday briefly outlined charges involving three unnamed women, which allegedly took place between March 6 and May 25.

In court, supervising Deputy Attorney General Melissa Mandel described allegations that Filner used force to restrain one woman at a fundraiser, kissed a second woman on the lips without her consent at a “Meet the Mayor” event, and grabbed the buttocks of a third women, who was being photographed with him at a public event, against her will.

The Associated Press first reported the charges against Filner.