Bill Cosby has arrived at court in Pennsylvania alone to learn his punishment for drugging and sexually assaulting a woman over a decade ago in what became the first celebrity trial of the #MeToo era.
Prosecutors on Monday asked a judge to give the 81-year-old comedian five to 10 years behind bars, while his lawyers asked for house arrest saying Cosby, who is legally blind, is too old and helpless to do time in prison.
Cosby spokesman Andrew Wyatt said the former TV star planned to remain silent when given the opportunity to address the court.
Cosby did not give evidence at either of his two trials.
Bill Cosby arrived in court in Pennsylvania on Tuesday (above) to learn his punishment for drugging and sexually assaulting a woman over a decade ago
The once-beloved entertainer faces anywhere from probation to 10 years in prison for violating Temple University women’s basketball administrator Andrea Constand at his estate near Philadelphia in 2004.
She went to police a year later, only to have a prosecutor turn down the case.
In the years since Constand first went to police in 2005, more than 60 women have accused Cosby of sexual misconduct, though none of those claims have led to criminal charges.
Cosby became the first celebrity of the #MeToo era to be convicted.
Tuesday’s sentencing was a reckoning accusers and prosecutors said was decades in the making.
‘The victims cannot be un-raped. Unfortunately, all we can do is hold the perpetrator accountable,’ said Gianna Constand, the victim’s mother, who testified Monday that her daughter’s buoyant personality was forever changed after the attack.
The hearing was set to conclude Tuesday after testimony from a defense psychologist who says Cosby is no longer a danger, given his age, and should not be branded a ‘sexually violent predator.’
The former TV star, who smiled as he got out of his car on Tuesday, planned to remain silent when given the opportunity to address the Pennsylvania court at his sentencing
Cosby is pictured arriving at the Montgomery County Courthouse on Tuesday ahead of his sentencing. His lawyers have asked a judge for house arrest, saying he is too old and helpless to do time in prison
Defense lawyer Joseph Green Jr. urged the judge ignore the protests and activism surrounding the case, and send Cosby home on house arrest.
‘The suggestion that Mr Cosby is dangerous is not supported by anything other than the frenzy,’ Green said as demonstrators gathered outside the courthouse.
Being labeled a sexually violent predator would make him subject to mandatory lifetime counseling and community notification of his whereabouts.
On Monday, Kristen Dudley, a psychologist for the state of Pennsylvania, testified that Cosby fits the criteria for a sexually violent predator, showing signs of a mental disorder that involves an uncontrollable urge to have non-consensual sex with young women.
Montgomery County District Attorney Kevin Steele said Cosby would no doubt commit similar crimes if given the chance, warning that the former TV star seemingly gets a sexual thrill out of slipping women drugs and assaulting them.
After testifying for several hours at two trials, the first of which ended in a hung jury, victim Andrea Constand spoke in court Monday for just two minutes. She is pictured above arriving on Monday
‘To say that he’s too old to do that – to say that he should get a pass, because it’s taken this long to catch up to what he’s done?’ Steele said, his voice rising. ‘What they’re asking for is a ‘get out of jail free’ card.’
Cosby, he said, has shown repeatedly that he feels no remorse over his actions. He said the sentence should send a message.
‘Despite bullying tactics, despite PR teams and other folks trying to change the optics, as one lawyer for the defense put it, the bottom line is that nobody’s above the law. Nobody,’ the district attorney said.
After testifying for several hours at two trials, the first of which ended in a hung jury, Constand spoke in court Monday for just two minutes.
‘The jury heard me. Mr Cosby heard me. Now all I am asking for is justice as the court sees fit,’ said Andrea Constand, who submitted a much longer victim-impact statement that wasn’t read in court.
Cosby’s side didn’t call any character witnesses, and his wife of 54 years, Camille, was not in court.