PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio 1060) -- Former Philadelphia news anchor Larry Mendte has been sentenced to house arrest , but no jail time, for hacking into the computer of colleague and co-anchor Alycia Lane, reading her e-mails, and leaking details to the news media.
Mendte will be on electronic monitoring during his house arrest and will thereafter serve three years' probation.
In a powerfully emotional hearing on Monday, Mendte told the judge he is ashamed of what he did.
Alycia Lane was sitting in the front row of the visitors' section during the hearing.
Mendte said that he was grateful that she was there so he could apologize to her personally.
He turned and faced her, then said he was sorry for invading her privacy.
Lane was quivering and crying, and was consoled by those near her.
Earlier, Mendte's wife testified, asking the judge to "have mercy" on her husband. Mendte is married to Channel 29 news anchor Dawn Stensland.
Mendte, 51, pleaded guilty in federal court in August. He faced a possible maximum sentence of five years in prison.
Mendte was a reporter and news anchor at Chicago's WBBM-TV CBS2 in the 1990s.
Prosecutor Michael Levy says Mendte read at least 500 private e-mails, maybe as many as 3,000 or more, in an attempt to humiliate co-anchor Alycia Lane and destroy her career.
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