Cheat Felicity faces her biggest test – jail
The actress fears she’s failed as a mum
Facing the music after getting caught up in a scandal of epic proportions, Desperate
Housewives actress Felicity Huffman has admitted she’s guilty of paying $30,000 to have a tutor help her daughter Sofia with her universityentrance exam.
The widespread cheating scam saw the 18-year-old given twice the time to sit her test, resulting in a score almost 40% higher than her preliminary assessment and nabbing her a coveted spot at prestigious University of Southern California.
“I am in full acceptance of my guilt, and with deep regret and shame over what I have done,” Felicity, 56, said in a statement, sharing her remorse for her involvement in the US-wide bribery scheme.
“I accept full responsibility for my actions and will accept the consequences that stem from those actions. I am ashamed of the pain I have caused my daughter, my family, my friends, my colleagues and the educational community.”
The Oscar-nominated actress also apologised to students and their parents who put in the work to get to university on their own merit, and declared that her daughter had no knowledge of what she did.
“In my misguided and profoundly wrong way, I have
betrayed her,” Felicity added. “This transgression toward her and the public, I will carry for the rest of my life.”
After the star was arrested and charged with conspiracy to commit mail fraud, she faced a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison, but Felicity agreed to plead guilty as part of a deal that will significantly cut her punishment.
Strainshowing
The Transamerica actress could still spend between four and 10 months behind bars, but she’s said to be desperate to stay out of jail. “Going to prison would be Felicity’s worst nightmare,” a family insider tells. “It seems like she’s pleading guilty to show how much regret she has over what she did and hopefully avoid a jail sentence.
“She’s under no illusions about how serious this is and she can barely eat or sleep because of the strain it has placed on her family. Felicity wants nothing more than to put this behind her and move on. She knows she has to deal with the consequences, and if that means paying a large fine and doing community service, so be it. But she’ll do whatever she can to stay out of prison.”
Although it has been suggested that her husband,
Shameless star William H. Macy, 69, also knew about Felicity’s actions and was involved in conversations about paying for his daughter to get help, he has reportedly not been charged due to a lack of evidence.
“There’s always a chance that William could get dragged into this at some point too, but he’s doing his best to steer clear of the whole situation and that’s why he didn’t join Felicity in court,” claims our insider, adding that Sofia is “devastated” by the scandal.
“This is something that is going to follow all of the family around forever, but it’s especially tough on Sofia. She’s totally humiliated and it’s going to be hard for her.”