BREAKING NEWS'RHOP' Star Karen Huger Denied Work Release From Prison After DUI: 'She Drew the Wrong Judge'
'RHOP' star Karen Huger was denied a work release from prison after her DUI.
Real Housewives of Potomac star Karen Huger — who is currently incarcerated — was denied a work release after she was found guilty in her DUI case.
Karen Huger was sentenced to one year in prison.
Huger, who was sentenced to 12 months, attempted to apply for work release as soon as she was eligible, which would have taken her to a facility that is “like a college dorm than a jail.”
Her application was approved by the corrections officer, but the Grande Dame of Potomac needed a judge to give the final approval. However, she ended up getting denied.
“She drew the wrong judge,” defense attorney David Moyse explained of Judge Terrence McGann, who issued a “disapproval of transfer” for Huger. “It was just horrible luck.”
Defense attorney David Moyse said Karen Huger 'drew the wrong judge.'
“I love Judge McGann,” Moyse added. ”And as a resident of Montgomery County, I am happy he’s a judge. But I am even happier if my clients never end up in front of him.”
Huger will now have to finish out the remainder of her sentence at the Montgomery County Correctional Facility in Maryland. Due to the fact that she’s already served two months and is stacking up good behavior credits, she will likely be released early in November.
The RHOP star declined to be interviewed, but her attorney David Martella explained while the prison she’s in offers some in-house treatment programs, a work release center would have been “more treatment-focused” and made it so Huger could return to an outpatient treatment program she’d been attending before being incarcerated.
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Karen Huger's attorney said they were 'disappointed' she 'wasn't approved' for work release.
“It’s a great program,” Martella noted. “We were disappointed she wasn’t approved.”
The facility Huger was hoping to attend — the Montgomery County Pre-Release Center — requires people who live there to look for a job that is close enough for them to walk to or take public transportation to, cannot have any alcohol being served and cannot involve video or audio recording. The last rule would have made it impossible for her to film for Housewives during her time there.
The center also has Alcoholics Anonymous or Narcotics Anonymous meetings. While doors to the front are unlocked, if residents leave during unrestricted times, they are served with an escape charge and go back to jail.
Karen Huger allegedly turned down a plea deal.
“Anyone who is really looking to make a change will do well here,” Ivan Downing, head of community corrections for the county, shared.
While Huger’s costar Gizelle Bryant claimed the reality starlet was initially offered a deal for six months of home confinement and wearing an ankle monitor in exchange for pleading guilty, she decided to go to trial.
While state guidelines suggested probation over jail time, Judge McGann told the court, “If there was ever a time to label guidelines as ludicrous, this is the time.” He was reportedly upset by Huger’s three previous drunk driving offenses, leading him to sentence her to jail time.
The Washington Post reported on Huger.
