By Chris Villani

Law360 (September 22, 2020, 1:49 PM EDT) -- The former CEO of Pacific Investment Management Co. and another parent who pled guilty in the "Varsity Blues" college admissions case will not be released from prison early due to what they called "harsh" COVID-19 quarantine measures, a judge ruled Monday, though he said he may reconsider home confinement down the road.

Douglas Hodge and Elizabeth Henriquez had both asked U.S. District Judge Nathaniel M. Gorton to allow them to serve their sentences in home confinement and be released from prison early. Hodge said he spent the first 29 days of his term stuck in a 77-square-foot cell, while Henriquez said she spent most of a 25-day lockdown crammed in an 80-square-foot cell with another inmate.

"The COVID-19 pandemic is an unprecedented and continually evolving cause of concern, and the court is cognizant of the particular risk of transmission in penitentiary facilities," Judge Gorton wrote in two brief orders denying the requests.

Still, the judge wrote, "As explained at defendant's sentencing and, notwithstanding the current public health crisis, there are good reasons why the period of incarceration imposed is warranted by the defendant's criminal conduct in this case."

Hodge said in his motion that he reported to prison early due to an unspecified family emergency and said the government failed to address that claim in its opposition filing.

Judge Gorton wrote Monday that he is "sensitive" to the situation and left the door open for Hodge to be released from prison in the future.

"If the circumstances surrounding that emergency worsen and/or the public health crisis does not continue to abate within the next few months, the court will entertain a motion to reconsider," Judge Gorton wrote.

The judge used similar language to leave the door open to Henriquez getting out before her six-month term is up.

Hodge was sentenced to nine months after he admitted to spending $850,000 to work with scheme mastermind William "Rick" Singer and get five of his seven kids into top schools. He argued he is being unduly punished because he chose to report to prison early due to a family concern that has been redacted from court records.

Henriquez pled guilty to agreeing, along with her husband, Manuel, to pay more than $500,000 to engage in a variety of schemes to get their daughters an unfair edge in the college admissions process. Judge Gorton has previously said the ongoing pandemic would not be grounds for convicted participants in the college admissions case to skirt prison time.

Prosecutors opposed the early release bids. In Hodge's case, they argued he chose to report to prison early knowing the pandemic would lead to his being quarantined and filed a request for compassionate release with the Bureau of Prisons the very next day.

Another "Varsity Blues" parent, Toby MacFarlane, received a seven-week reduction in his sentence due to having to spend time quarantining.

A representative for the U.S. attorney's office declined to comment Tuesday, and counsel for Hodge and Henriquez did not immediately respond to comment requests.

The government is represented by Eric S. Rosen, Justin D. O'Connell, Leslie A. Wright and Kristen A. Kearney of the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Massachusetts.

Hodge is represented by Brien T. O'Connor, Ezra D. Geggel and Joan McPhee of Ropes & Gray LLP and Miranda Hooker of Troutman Pepper Hamilton Sanders LLP.

Henriquez is represented by Aaron M. Katz, Colleen A. Conry and Laura Gaffney Hoey of Ropes & Gray LLP.

The case is U.S. v. Colburn et al., case number 1:19-cr-10080, in the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts.

--Editing by Janice Carter Brown.

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