Aide to jailed US ex-mayor guilty

Beatty said she wanted to avoid being away from her children for too long

An aide to the jailed former mayor of Detroit has pleaded guilty to lying under oath to cover up their affair.

Christine Beatty said she had misled the court and accepted a four-month jail term in exchange for the plea.

The ex-mayor, Kwame Kilpatrick, is already serving four months in jail for obstructing justice.

He and Beatty were both married to other people when text messages surfaced appearing to contradict their sworn denials of an affair.

The accusations emerged during a whistle-blower case brought by two police officers.

Beatty, who was Mr Kilpatrick's chief of staff, had refused to plead guilty on the charges during his trial.

But she told the court in Chicago she was filing a plea bargain in order to avoid being away from her children for a long period.

She told the court she had lied under oath and "did so with the intent to mislead the court and jury and to impede and obstruct the fair administration of justice".

Beatty's sentence will begin on 5 January next year. Wayne County prosecutor Kym Worthy told reporters that Detroit would then be able to "truly move on" from the case.