Bill Cosby receives 3 to 10 year sentence for sexual assault
After fighting for years, Bill Cosby's victims are finally getting justice. The 81-year-old actor was sentenced to up to 10 years in prison.
The news was announced on Twitter. The case began five months ago when Andrea Constand took him to court over a sexual assault from 2004.
Read more on our Twitter account, @amomama_usa. Constand said in a statement:
"The psychological, emotional and financial bullying included a slander campaign in the media that left my entire family reeling in shock and disbelief."
"Bill Cosby took my beautiful, healthy young spirit and crushed it. He robbed me of my health and vitality, my open nature, and my trust in myself and others."
— CBS News (@CBSNews) September 25, 2018
Read Andrea Constand's full victim impact statement, released at Cosby's sentencing https://t.co/Xi0fFtyYk0 pic.twitter.com/BeDNA0uPot
The trial spanned 13 days, and the jury also heard from 5 other women who were also drugged and sexually assaulted by the actor.
His legal team proposed house arrest, but the jury heard that Cosby would be living in the lap of luxury, and referenced his birthday bash held at his home earlier this year.
Even though the sentence is for a maximum of 10 years, Cosby will spend three years behind bars before supervised release will be considered.
Bill Cosby declared a "sexually violent predator" before sentencing https://t.co/ImDFJjYf7s pic.twitter.com/BQXaAmFlcz
— CBS News (@CBSNews) September 25, 2018
The Montgomery County DA also said on social media that his sentence includes a $25,000 fine and that the judge denied him bail.
The District Attorney Kevin Steele added that his age wasn't a "get-out-of-jail-for-free card" and Cosby was taken straight to prison after the sentencing.
Despite Cosby's legal team's "bully tactics," Steele said: "The bottom line is that nobody’s above the law. Nobody."
Bill Cosby was taken straight to prison following his sentencing, with a judge denying his lawyer's motion to allow him to remain free on bail pending an appeal https://t.co/xOtUBeFawv pic.twitter.com/seg7QbZOva
— Rolling Stone (@RollingStone) September 25, 2018
He was ruled as a Sexual Violent Predator and will be forced to attend counseling session for the rest of his life. Judge Steven T. O’Neill said:
"It is time for justice in a court of law. The day has come. The time has come."
Breaking News: A judge declared Bill Cosby a "sexually violent predator" and sentenced him to 3 to 10 years in prison for drugging and assaulting Andrea Constand https://t.co/pF86dnaIKc
— The New York Times (@nytimes) September 25, 2018
Throughout the trial, Cosby's team tried to discredit Constand and the other victims by labeling them as money-hungry con artists.
Failing that, they tried to convince the jury that Constand and Cosby were in a consensual romantic relationship.
They even used the death of Cosby's son to garner sympathy from the jury by describing the actor as "lonely and troubled" after Ennis Cosby was murdered.
Ennis was shot in the head during a failed robbery attempt in Los Angeles, California, back in the late nineties.
Jan. 16/1997 - Comedian and TV star Bill Cosby's son Ennis Cosby is murdered after he stops to fix a flat tire. pic.twitter.com/Wcp2MLOeaD
— Today In History (@TodayThatWas) January 16, 2017
He was changing a flat tire on Interstate 405 when 18-year-old Michail Markhasev shot him at approximately 1 a.m.
Even though it was ruled as a robbery, the Markhasev didn't take his Rolex watch or the money Ennis had in his person.