Former KYW Philadelphia anchor Larry Mendte pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court Friday morning to a single felony count related to hacking former co-anchor Alycia Lane’s personal e-mail account.
He was charged with accessing Lane’s e-mail more than 500 times over the course of two-plus years. Some of the personal information was leaked to the Philadelphia Daily News.
Federal prosecutors agreed not to make recommendations as to whether he should be sentenced to prison, the Philadelphia Inquirer reported, although Judge Mary McLaughlin could still impose a sentence. Under federal sentencing guidelines, Mendte could face a maximum of six months in prison, the newspaper said.
Mendte was fired from the CBS-owned station in June. Lane was let go earlier in the year following a late-night incident with an NYPD officer. The pair was a popular anchor team just a few years ago.
Mendte was accompanied Friday morning by his wife, local Fox anchor Dawn Stensland.
