Ex-Attorney General Kathleen Kane reports to Montco jail to begin serving sentence
A judge rejected an 11th hour bid to delay her surrender to begin serving a 10-to-23-month sentence in the Montgomery County jail for perjury and other crimes.
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Former Pennsylvania Attorney General Kathleen Kane surrendered Thursday at the Montgomery County Correctional Facility in Eaglesville to begin serving a 10-to-23-month sentence for perjury and other crimes.
She reported to the jail hours after a Montgomery County judge rejected her eleventh-hour appeal for more time before starting to serve her sentence.
Kane, who had been ordered to surrender by 9 a.m., reported to the jail an hour early. She said nothing as she exited a black SUV and entered the facility.
"It has been a long path to get to this final accountability…but with Kane now behind bars it closes this unfortunate chapter," Montgomery County District Attorney Kevin R. Steele said in a statement. "As the jail door shuts her in, a strong message is being sent that no one is above the law. No one. Not even the chief law enforcement officer of the Commonwealth."
Through her lawyer, William J. Brennan, Kane had filed court papers Wednesday telling Montgomery County Judge Wendy Demchick-Alloy that she is a single mother who has primary custody of her sons, both of whom are in high school. She requested a brief extension to make "custodial arrangements" — a request that her ex-husband supported, Brennan wrote.
Demchick-Alloy denied the request.
Earlier this week, the judge had ordered that Kane report to the Montgomery County Correctional Facility by 9 a.m. Thursday.
Brennan said that Kane was disappointed by the ruling and that there was "a lot of scrambling" to get her affairs in order before surrendering.
"She's handling this very well under the circumstances," said Brennan. "And I think she will do her time quietly and with grace and dignity. She is a young woman and she will go on and do great things."
Kane, 52, was found guilty in 2016 of perjury and other charges of abusing the power of her office in a vendetta against a perceived political enemy. She had remained free on bail while she pursued her state appeals.
Her legal options were exhausted on Monday when the state Supreme Court refused to hear her appeal.