Balloon Boy's Dad Going to Jail for 90 Days
Credit: Splash News Online
So much for a happy holiday: Balloon boy's dad is going to the slammer.
On Wednesday, Richard Heene was sentenced to four years of supervised probation for hatching a hoax that his 6-year-old son, Falcon, had floated away in a homemade helium balloon.
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He was also ordered to serve 30 days of "straight time" in jail, in addition to 60 additional days on a work-release program.
He also must pay an as-yet unspecified restitution.
See more unforgettable celeb scandals His lawyer David Lane added, "You know, what happened here has spun so wildly out of control that nobody hand any inkling that this would be the worldwide event that it turned into." In November, Heene and his wife Mayumi pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor charge of false reporting to authorities. See today's top celeb news pics! Court documents have revealed that the couple mounted the plan about two weeks before the Oct. 15 incident and "instructed their three children to lie to authorities as well as the media regarding this hoax." Their motive was to "make the Heene family more marketable for future media interests," the documents said. A prosecutor said Wednesday that the search-and-rescue launched cost at least $47,000.
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12That's such a stupid ridiculous comment below. Their family life is none of social/child welfare services business. Child services is only for ABUSED or NEGlECTED children. There was never any abuse or neglect in their family. Stop causing trouble when there's not any.
OOOPS, I MEANT YEARS!
GREAT NEWS! Four months will probably only be two months...if even that! When this story first came out, the news reported it cost 200,000...guess not though seeing how the amount is much lower.
He's Douchebag number 2. Douchebag number 1 is Jon Gosselin.
I'm glad he feels bad but I just wonder if he's sorry for what has happened or if he's just sorry he got caught. Makes me curious about the mom though; is she goingto have to serve jail time as well? Hopefully they'll have to pay the $47,000 back as well.
I hope there are many civil trials to follow.
they need to pony up that $47,000
As well as jail time, fading back into obscurity is what this couple needs, with child welfare and social services at their door on a weekly basis.
You need a license to get a dog, but not to have children....
the wife called it in to 911 and was just as much in on it as he was.
Good, they should be sentenced, but the sentences should've been longer, though!
Excellent - hopefully he has learned his lesson. That goes with his wife too.