Extract:
A New York judge put a period this month at the end of Sean “Diddy” Combs‘ federal sex-crimes saga, sentencing him to over four years in prison.
The sentence, a middle ground between the prosecution’s requested 11 years and the defense team’s plea for 14 months, represents a significant blow to the music mogul.
After surfing a decades-long tidal wave of success, Combs faced apocalyptic legal challenges over the past year, enduring not only the closely watched federal trial, but an onslaught of civil cases alleging years of sexual abuse.
As the #MeToo movement enters a tumultuous new era, experts seem torn about what Combs’ case changed − if anything.
Some experts say that a man as powerful and prominent as Combs serving any prison time at all is a win. Others, however, point to the jury’s acquittal as indicative of the way criminal courts continue to fail survivors.
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“Throughout the trial, Judge Arun Subramanian has been remarkably unflinching in calling out the defense’s poor treatment of witnesses,” and has shown “a rare, deep understanding of how abuse works,” Dr. Ann Olivarius, an attorney who specializes in discrimination and sexual assault, tells USA TODAY.
