Definitely playing Russian roulette with a loaded justice system. May skate on the (arguable) basis of "white male privilege" and possible lack of prior convictions.

IANAL, but I would play on empathy for an retiring, unaccomplished non-professor risking ignominy for ignescence... Dude was just deperate for attention. (Making an example of him wouldn't necessarily deter folks because they would throw their lives away anyhow... Making an example rarely does anything other than rationalize malicious sentencing.)