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Na vile tuligrow alikuwa na image ya a perfect family,kumbe ‘behind the scenes’ ni mnyama tu.
A Pennsylvania judge sentenced Bill Cosby to 3-to-10 years in state prison for aggravated indecent assault in the only criminal case to emerge from dozens of allegations against the once-beloved comedian in recent years.
He was convicted in April of drugging and molesting former Temple University administrator Andrea Constand in his suburban Philadelphia home in 2004.
Prior to the sentencing on Tuesday, Judge Steven O’Neill classified Mr. Cosby as a “sexually violent predator.” With that designation, 81-year-old entertainer will have to undergo lifetime counseling and will be listed on a sex-offender registry.
Mr. Cosby, who has said he is legally blind, has maintained his innocence and said that he had a romantic relationship with Ms. Constand.
Judge O’Neill denied Mr. Cosby’s lawyers’ request that their client to remain free on bail pending an appeal. Instead, Mr. Cosby—once known as “America’s Dad” for his endearing and empathetic portrayals over decades—will soon occupy a prison cell.
He handed over his watch and other belongings in the courtroom before being led away in handcuffs.
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This image provided by the Montgomery County Correctional Facility shows Bill Cosby on Tuesday, Sept. 25, 2018, after he was sentenced to three-to 10-years for sexual assault. (Montgomery County Correctional Facility via AP) Photo: Montgomery County Correctional Facility/Associated Press
“Finally Bill Cosby has been unmasked, and we have seen the real man as he’s headed off to prison,” said Montgomery County District Attorney Kevin Steele.
Andrew Wyatt, a spokesman for Mr. Cosby, said the prosecution was racially biased and alleged that prosecutors used a doctored audio recording of Mr. Cosby at trial.
“Mr. Cosby has clearly been denied his right to a fair trial,” Mr. Wyatt said.
The former star of “The Cosby Show” and other TV series is the first celebrity convicted since a wave of sexual misconduct allegations against powerful men emerged last year, ushering in the #MeToo movement.
Mr. Cosby’s first trial on the charges in 2017 ended in a hung jury and mistrial.
At the retrial in Montgomery County Court, prosecutors portrayed him as a serial predator. They said he used his fame to win the trust of young women before drugging and assaulting them.
Ms. Constand testified the comedian gave her wine and pills that incapacitated her and then groped her. Prosecutors called five other women to testify in a bid to support Ms. Constand by indicating a pattern of behavior by Mr. Cosby. The other women’s allegations against him were too old to prosecute.
At the first trial, only one additional accuser testified. Legal experts said Mr. Cosby’s attorneys will likely argue on appeal that the judge erred by allowing more accusers to speak at the re-trial.
“If one was sufficient in the first trial, why were five needed in the second? I think this is a really good appellate issue,” said Wes Oliver, a law professor at Duquesne University.
Ms. Constand’s five-page victim impact statement was released Tuesday prior to the sentencing. In it, she described the long-lasting effects of the assault and two trials.
“Bill Cosby took my beautiful, healthy, young spirit & crushed it,” she wrote. “He robbed me of my health & vitality, my open nature, and my trust in myself & others.”
More than 60 women in recent years have accused the entertainer of sexual misconduct that goes back decades. He has denied all the allegations, nearly all of which are outside the statute of limitations.