Harvey Weinstein behind bars: why he avoided the worst

"He was master of his own world," criticized the prosecutor in her final argument, about Harvey Weinstein. At 67, the former successful producer, used to palaces and red carpets, will discover another: prison. After five days of deliberations, and while they disagreed on Friday, the New York jurors - seven men and five women - finally delivered their verdict on Monday. Harvey Weinstein is convicted of sexual assault and rape and faces a maximum of 25 years.

Judge James Burke, alone, will decide the specific sentence on March 11 at a dedicated hearing. The law provided for a minimum of five years in prison, he logically ordered that Harvey Weinstein be imprisoned immediately, causing a moment of amazement of the accused, who first refused to get up. It was finally while limping, handcuffed and surrounded by two police officers that he left the courtroom - a strong symbol for the #MeToo movement, launched in the fall of 2017 precisely thanks to revelations about Harvey Weinstein.

Rapist, but not predator

If the spokespersons of the movement welcomed this verdict, thanking the women who testified at the trial - "you have done a great service to girls and women around the world, thank you", for example tweeted actress Ashley Judd - d other observers see it in reality as a half-hearted decision. Harvey Weinstein escapes conviction for “predatory sexual assault” and therefore life imprisonment, which means that the jurors were not unanimously convinced by the testimony of Annabella Sciorra…

A surprise, as the actress' testimony had seemed solid. Going back to one night in winter 1993 and prescribed, the facts she had described could, combined with the testimony of one of the two complainants, prove that Harvey Weinstein was a serial aggressor ... and potentially send him behind bars until the end of his life.

He is convicted today for the two least serious charges of the five for which he has appeared since January 22. Guilty of "first degree" (violent) sexual assault on Mimi Haleyi (punishable by up to 25 years in prison), and "third degree" rape (without consent) on Jessica Mann (up to Harvey Weinstein announced through his lawyer Donna Rotunno that he planned to appeal. The debates, which should relate to procedural questions, herald a judicial battle which is probably just beginning.

Weinstein case: two lawyers at the heart of the trial