Bill Cosby sentenced to three to ten years in prison for sexual assault

NORRISTOWN, Pennsylvania, Sept 25 (Reuters) – Bill Cosby was sentenced on Tuesday to between three and 10 years in prison for sexually assaulting a woman, capping the once-popular comedian’s descent from “America’s Dad” to convicted felon.

Cosby, 81, was found guilty in April of three counts of aggravated sexual assault for drugging and sexually assaulting his former girlfriend Andrea Constand, a former Temple University administrator, in his Philadelphia home in 2004.

He was the first celebrity to be convicted of sexual assault since the start of the #MeToo movement, the national reckoning with misconduct that has brought down dozens of powerful men in entertainment, politics and other fields.

His lawyers have already announced that they will appeal the verdict.

Montgomery County Court of Common Pleas Judge Steven O’Neill also classified Cosby as a “sexually violent predator” under Pennsylvania law.

Under this order, Cosby must undergo monthly therapy for the rest of his life and register with the police as a sex offender. Neighbors and schools will be informed of his address and his crimes.

More than 50 other women have also accused Cosby of sexual abuse dating back decades. Most of the allegations are too old to be prosecuted. The Constand case was the only allegation that resulted in an indictment.

On the first day of sentencing on Monday, Constand said in a written statement she submitted to the court that the attack left her a woman who was “stuck in a holding pattern for most of her adult life, unable to fully heal or look forward.”

“Bill Cosby took my beautiful, healthy young spirit and destroyed it,” she wrote.

Prosecutors had asked for a maximum sentence of between five and 10 years in prison, citing the nature of Cosby’s crimes and his alleged past misconduct. They also asked the judge to fine Cosby $25,000 and make him pay court costs. If he was ever eligible for parole, prosecutors required him to undergo a “psychosexual evaluation,” which he refused before sentencing.

Citing Cosby’s frailty and blindness, his lawyers had called for house arrest instead of a prison sentence.

Cosby’s first trial in 2017 ended in a miscarriage of justice when the jury was unable to reach a unanimous verdict. Soon after that trial, a number of women began accusing influential men of sexual misconduct and founded the #MeToo and #TimesUp movements, which encouraged victims to speak out about their experiences. (Reporting by Jonathan Allen; Editing by Meredith Mazzilli and Tom Brown)