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Bill Cosby sentenced to three to 10 years in prison for sexual assault Bill Cosby sentenced to three to 10 years in prison for sexual assault
(about 1 hour later)
Disgraced TV star Bill Cosby was sentenced to between three and 10 years in prison on Tuesday for drugging and sexually assaulting a woman over a decade ago. Bill Cosby, the once-celebrated entertainer known as “America’s Dad”, has been sentenced to between three and 10 years in prison for drugging and sexually assaulting a woman over a decade ago, becoming the first celebrity of the #MeToo era to be jailed for his crimes.
He becomes the first celebrity of the #MeToo era to be sent to prison. The 81-year-old comedian was led away from the courtroom in Montgomery county courthouse in handcuffs, and taken into custody immediately. He was found guilty earlier this year of drugging and molesting Andrea Constand at his suburban Philadelphia estate in 2004.
Judge Steven O’Neill had already declared Bill Cosby a “sexually violent predator” on Tuesday morning, as a first step toward sentencing the 81-year-old comedian. Passing sentence, Judge Steven O’Neill said: “It is time for justice. Mr Cosby, this has all circled back to you. The time has come. Mr Cosby, your guilt has been determined by a jury. You were convicted of a very serious crime.”
He will serve at least three years in state prison for violating Temple University women’s basketball administrator Andrea Constand at his suburban Philadelphia estate in 2004. He added that Cosby’s notoriety did not affect his ruling. “I’m not permitted to treat him any differently because of who he is, or who he was,” he said.
“It is time for justice,” O’Neill told the court early Tuesday afternoon. “Of course, the higher the ascent the sharper the fall. I recognise that impact upon Mr Cosby, and I am sorry for that.” O’Neill refused Cosby’s application to be released on bail pending appeal, saying he “could quite possibly be a danger to the community”.
“Mr Cosby, your guilt has been determined by a jury. You were convicted of a very serious crime,” he said, adding that Cosby’s notoriety did not affect his ruling. Cosby declined the opportunity to speak before being sentenced and afterwards reportedly sat smiling, laughing and chatting with his defence team. His wife of 54 years, Camille, was not in court. Constand smiled broadly as she heard the sentence and was hugged by others in the courtroom.
“I’m not permitted to treat him any differently because of who he is, or who he was,” he said. “Of course, the higher the ascent the sharper the fall. I recognize that impact upon Mr Cosby, and I am sorry for that.” In the pouring rain outside the courthouse in Norristown, Pennsylvania, Gloria Allred, attorney for several of Cosby’s accusers said: “This has been a long journey to justice for all of the accusers … we’re glad that judgment day has finally come. Mr Cosby has shown no remorse.”
Chelan Lasha, who testified at the trial as one of the dozens of women who have accused Cosby of violating them over the past five decades, said: “I’ve waited 30 years. I’m very happy to know that Mr Cosby will do time in prison, that he is touchable.”
Lise-Lotte Lublin, who also testified, said: “I’m more emotional than I thought I would be … There’s justice at the end – and hallelujah.”
The sentencing came at the end of a two-day hearing at which the judge declared Cosby a “sexually violent predator”. The designation means he must undergo monthly counselling for the rest of his life and report to the authorities four times a year. His name will appear on a sex offender register sent to neighbours, schools and victims.
In a victim impact statement released earlier in the day, Constand described how she had been “at the top of her game” until Cosby’s assault derailed her life.“Life as I knew it came to abrupt halt,” she said. “The man I had come to know as a mentor and friend drugged and sexually assaulted me. Instead of being able to run, jump and pretty much do anything I wanted physically, during the assault I was paralysed and completely helpless. I could not move my arms or legs. I couldn’t speak or even remain conscious. I was completely vulnerable, and powerless to protect myself.” After the assault, she said, “the shame was overwhelming” and she retreated. “I felt completely alone, unable to trust anyone, including myself.”Her job with the women’s basketball team at Temple University, Philadelphia, still required her to interact with Cosby, a trustee at the school. “The sound of his voice over the phone felt like a knife going through my guts,” she said.Constand said her life remained in turmoil throughout a civil suit and two criminal trials, but she said that she took comfort in knowing Cosby had been brought down.Cosby was convicted earlier this year of three counts of aggravated indecent assault, becoming the first celebrity convicted on criminal charges since the 2017 advent of the #MeToo movement against sexual assault and harassment.
The case is the only one to result in criminal charges against Cosby, but more than 60 women have said he abused or harassed them, with many saying he drugged them and molested them while they were incapacitated. Five other women testified at Cosby’s trial that they had been assaulted. A hearing of the same charges last year ended in a mistrial with a hung jury.
Constand said the toll on her life has been heavy. “I’m a middle-aged woman who’s been stuck in a holding pattern for most of her adult life, unable to fully heal or to move forward,” she said.Prosecutors had asked for five to 10 years in state prison, citing the seriousness of Cosby’s crime and his lack of remorse. Cosby’s lawyer asked for his sentence to be served as a continuation of his house arrest, saying he was not dangerous and was too old and frail to spend time behind bars.Constand, who considered Cosby a friend and mentor at the time of the assault, testified that he gave her three blue pills which caused her to pass out. She awoke to find him penetrating her with his fingers, touching her breasts and placing her hand on his genitals.Cosby denied wrongdoing, and said his relationship with Constand was consensual and the pills he offered her were simply the over-the-counter cold medication Benadryl. Cosby intends to appeal against the verdict.
Cosby’s spokesman, Andrew Wyatt, was defiant after the sentencing. He said outside court: “Mr Cosby’s doing great, and Mr Cosby knows that God is watching over him. He knows that these are lies. They persecuted Jesus and look what happened. I’m not saying Mr Cosby is Jesus, but we know what this country has done to black men for centuries.”
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The sexually violent predator classification means that Cosby must undergo monthly counseling for the rest of his life and report quarterly to authorities. His name will appear on a sex offender registry sent to neighbors, schools and victims.
“Mr Cosby, this has all circled back to you,” O’Neill said. “The time has come.” He quoted from victim Constand’s own statement to the court, in which she said Cosby took her “beautiful, young spirit and crushed it”.
The judge denied Cosby’s motion to be released on bail pending appeal against his conviction, and he was taken into custody immediately.
The sentencing followed years of accusations that he abused dozens of women.
O’Neill handed down the sentence at the Montgomery county courthouse in Norristown, Pennsylvania, at the end of the two-day hearing.
Cosby was convicted earlier this year of three counts of aggravated indecent assault, becoming the first celebrity convicted on criminal charges since the 2017 advent of the #MeToo movement against sexual assault and harassment.
In April, in a retrial, a jury found him guilty of sexually assaulting Constand.
In a victim impact statement released on Tuesday, Constand described how she was “at the top of her game” until the assault derailed her life.
“Life as I knew it came to abrupt halt,” she said. “The man I had come to know as a mentor and friend drugged and sexually assaulted me. Instead of being able to run, jump and pretty much do anything I wanted physically, during the assault I was paralyzed and completely helpless. I could not move my arms or legs. I couldn’t speak or even remain conscious. I was completely vulnerable, and powerless to protect myself.”
After the assault, she said, “the shame was overwhelming” and she retreated. “I felt completely alone, unable to trust anyone, including myself,” she wrote.
Her job with the Temple University women’s basketball team still required her to interact with Cosby, a trustee at the school. “The sound of his voice over the phone felt like a knife going through my guts,” she said.
The conviction and sentencing cap a precipitous fall for the man once known as “America’s Dad”, who starred in the popular Cosby Show in the 1980s and 90s.
In the pouring rain outside the courthouse, Gloria Allred, attorney for several accusers said: “This has been a long journey to justice for all of the accusers … we’re glad that judgment day has finally come. Mr Cosby has shown no remorse.”
Accuser Chelan Lasha, who testified at the trial, said: “I’ve waited 30 years. I’m very happy to know that Mr Cosby will do time in prison, that he is touchable.”
Lise-Lotte Lublin, who also testified, said: “I’m more emotional than I thought I would be.”
“There’s justice at the end – and hallelujah.”
But Cosby spokesman Andrew Wyatt was defiant. He said outside court: “Mr Cosby’s doing great, and Mr Cosby knows that God is watching over him. He knows that these are lies. They persecuted Jesus and look what happened. I’m not saying Mr Cosby is Jesus, but we know what this country has done to black men for centuries.”
An assistant read a statement from his wife, Camille Cosby, where she discussed their belief that a recording of Cosby talking with Constand’s mother was doctored, part of the basis for an appeal: “We have now learned and will prove that Bill Cosby was denied the right to a fair trial because the district attorney of Montgomery county, Kevin Steele, used falsified evidence against him.”
The sentencing came just two days before Congress holds a public hearing for Donald Trump’s supreme court nominee Brett Kavanaugh, and at least one woman who has accused Kavanaugh of sexual violence. And it is almost a year since a multitude of women began coming forward to accuse movie mogul Harvey Weinstein of a litany of sexual crimes, including rape. That dramatic news prompted the revitalization of the rallying cry #MeToo and the emergence of a new movement and a new group, Time’s Up aimed at addressing sexual misconduct, especially in the workplace. Weinstein’s criminal case is ongoing and he denies any non consensual sexual activity. Cosby’s trials, significantly, came either side of the Weinstein revelations and the birth of the new #MeToo era.
Constand, who considered Cosby a friend and mentor at the time of the assault, testified that he gave her three blue pills, which caused her to pass out. She awoke to find Cosby penetrating her with his fingers, touching her breasts and placing her hand on his genitals.
Cosby has denied wrongdoing and intends to appeal against the verdict. The case is the only one to result in criminal charges against Cosby, but more than 60 women have said he abused or harassed them.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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