‘I am deeply ashamed’: Felicity Huffman weeps as judge hands down sentence in admissions scandal

BOSTON — Now she’s a “Desperate” inmate.

A Boston judge sentenced Felicity Huffman to two weeks behind bars on Friday for paying $15,000 to inflate her daughter’s SAT scores in the sweeping college admissions scandal.

The former “Desperate Housewives” star wept as she apologized to the court and her two daughters for her shameful actions before Judge Indira Talwani handed down the sentence.

“I am sorry to my daughter Sophie, my daughter Georgia, my husband William. I have betrayed them,” Huffman began.

She recalled the time when she was driving to the testing center after agreeing to scam the system.

“Sophia was in the car next to me, she was nervous, asking if we could get ice cream. I thought … I can just turn around … and to my eternal shame, I didn’t.”

She sobbed as she added, “I can only say I am so sorry, Sophia. I was frightened, I was stupid, and I was so wrong. I am deeply ashamed at what I have done. I have inflicted more damage than I could imagine.”

Huffman was also ordered to pay a $30,000 fine and serve a year of supervised release, as well as 250 hours of community service. She showed no emotion as the judge read her sentence.

She will self-surrender to a federal lockup Oct. 25. Her lawyers requested that she serve time at FCI Dublin, a low-security, all-female inmate prison in northern California.

The 56-year-old mom of two pleaded guilty to charges that she paid college fixer William “Rick” Singer $15,000 disguised as a “purported charitable contribution” to boost elder daughter Sophia’s test scores.

Prosecutors said she made similar arrangements for her younger daughter, Georgia, but didn’t follow through.

Earlier Friday, Huffman arrived at the federal courthouse holding hands with her husband, fellow Hollywood star William H. Macy, who was not charged in the scandal. Huffman’s brother Moore Huffman Jr. was also in attendance.

They left the courthouse without saying a word to the crush of reporters outside.

Prosecutors asked for Huffman to be sentenced to one month behind bars, while the Emmy winner begged for probation and 250 hours’ community service. Both parties agreed she’d pay a $20,000 fine as part of her plea deal.

Ahead of sentencing, US Attorney Eric Rosen slammed the actress, calling her actions deliberate and saying her request for a fine and probation was hardly punishment.

“With all due respect to the defendant, welcome to parenthood,” Rosen sniped, referring to Huffman’s letter to the judge last week in which she called “motherhood bewildering.” 

The prosecutor also repeatedly pointed to Huffman’s celebrity status, saying being “a wealthy privileged mother” doesn’t mean she gets to go scot-free.

“And the $20,000 fine? For someone with the net worth in the tens of millions?” he added.

Martin Murphy, Huffman’s lawyer, meanwhile, tried to convince Talwani that probation was “real punishment” and that her crime could’ve been far worse.

“Ms. Huffman did not enlist her daughter in this crime. And when she had the opportunity to decide whether she was going to do this again, she said no,” Murphy said. “Her moral compass — she was able to revisit it.”

Before sentencing Huffman, Talwani acknowledged that Huffman took responsibility early on but also said “trying to be a good mother doesn’t excuse this.”

Huffman was among dozens ensnared in the bribery scandal that exploded earlier this year, implicating parents, coaches and test proctors as part of a wide-ranging scheme that weaseled underqualified applicants into top colleges across the nation.

“Full House” actress Lori Loughlin and her husband, fashion designer Mossimo Giannulli, also were charged. They have pleaded not guilty.