Disgraced comedian Bill Cosby has been sentenced to up to 10 years in jail, and no less than three, in his sexual assault trial. The news comes after his conviction in April on three counts of assault.
“34 months since this criminal complaint was filed, it is time for justice in a court of law. Mr. Cosby, this has all circled back to you. The day has come. Your time has come,” said Judge Steven T. O’Neill has he handed down the sentence.
Bill was also given a fine of $25 thousand and has to pay prosecution and court costs.
The 81-year-old appeared in the Montgomery County courtroom with his spokespeople, Andrew Wyatt and Ebonee Benson. Noticeably missing was wife Camille, who has stood by him through these revelations. She recently hired an ex-prosecutor to investigate the trial judge and to “to facilitate my efforts to uncover the truth.”
Also on hand was Janice Dickinson and about 20 other Cosby accusers. The model was one of the five who testified in court and one of the 35 victims who spoke to New York magazine in 2015.
Andrea Costand wrote a five-page victim impact statement that she gave to the judge.
“Instead of being able to run jump and pretty much do anything I wanted physically, during the assault I was paralyzed and completely helpless,” she wrote. “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.”
“The shame was overwhelming.” Things got worse when she did finally speak out and Bill’s lawyers fought back.
She wrote, “I had to watch Cosby make jokes and attempt to degrade and diminish me, while his lawyers belittled and sneered at me. It deepened my sense of shame and helplessness, and at the end of each day, I felt emotionally drained and exhausted.”
Bill was given a no contact order for Andrea and her family.
One of the questions the judge had to decide during the two-day hearing was if the former actor is a “sexually violent predator.” Pennsylvania’s Sexual Offenders Assessment Board gave him that classification in July, and his lawyers fought it at the hearing, claiming it was unconstitutional. The judge upheld the classification. Bill has to register with the Pennsylvania State Police for the rest of his life.
The former Cosby Show star faced up to 10 years for each conviction, 30 years total.
Bill didn’t testify at the trial, but he didn’t stay completely silent either. When prosecutors tried to revoke his bail, claiming he had a private plane, he stood up and yelled, “He doesn’t have a plane, you a—hole,” meaning himself.
He had remained out of prison the last five months on $1 million bail, and his lawyers are planning to appeal his conviction.
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