Detroit Aide Pleads Guilty

Former Detroit mayoral aide Christine Beatty this week pled guilty to two felony charges stemming from a perjury scandal that led to the conviction of former Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick.

The guilty plea comes after Beatty rejected a number of deals in recent months, even after Kilpatrick pled guilty and began serving a 120-day prison sentence in October.

Like Kilpatrick, Beatty pled guilty to two counts of obstructing justice for lying in a police whistleblower trial last year. The deal calls for her to serve a 120-day jail term and five years of probation, as well as pay $100,000 restitution to the city. She will begin serving her sentence Jan. 5. She had faced up to 15 years in prison if convicted at a jury trial.

Kilpatrick and Beatty were convicted of lying under oath about the nature of their relationship as well as their role in the firing of Detroit’s deputy police chief.

In a video statement released Monday, Beatty tearfully apologized to Detroit residents and said she agreed to the plea deal in order to “not take the chance on not being there for my daughters.”

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