Ex-Mayor Bob Filner finishes house arrest, asks for forgiveness

SAN DIEGO -- Emerging from a 90-day house arrest, ex-Mayor Bob Filner on Sunday said that he wants “a chance to earn your forgiveness over time based on my actions.”

Filner’s sentence for his guilty plea to harassing women ended Sunday. He no longer will be confined to his home in a downtown high-rise.

In a statement to KNSD-NBC7, Filner predicted that he will “emerge from this dark and difficult period in my life as a better human being.”

Filner, 71, a 10-term member of Congress who was elected in 2012 as San Diego’s first Democratic mayor in two decades, resigned in August amid allegations that he had harassed more than 20 women. In October, he pleaded guilty to charges brought by the state attorney general.

In his statement, Filner said that he would continue to focus on his “mental and physical health and family and private life.”

He added that he will not be giving interviews “or making appearances in the immediate future.”

Under a plea bargain with the state attorney general’s office, Filner remains under three years’ probation. He pleaded guilty to felony false imprisonment and misdemeanor battery.

Under home confinement, he was required to wear a GPS monitor and could leave his condo only for medical appointments, religious services or with the permission of a probation officer.

While Filner was confined to his home, voters elected a successor, Kevin Faulconer, a Republican, and the City Council settled a sex harassment lawsuit filed against the ex-mayor by his former communications director.

Twitter: @LATsandiego

tony.perry@latimes.com