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Bill Cosby, now a pariah, faces 30 years in prison
A jury has found Bill Cosby guilty of drugging and sexually assaulting a woman at his home 14 years ago, capping the downfall of one of the world’s best-known entertainers. His accusers cheered outside the Norristown, Pennsylvania, courthouse when they learned he had been convicted on three counts of aggravated indecent assault and could face as much as 30 years in prison — but the amount of jail time he will actually see is an outstanding question. On the second day of its deliberations at the Montgomery County Courthouse, the jury convicted Cosby of three counts of aggravated indecent assault against Andrea Constand, at the time a Temple University employee. Cosby’s case was the first highprofile sexual assault trial to unfold in the aftermath of the #MeToo movement and many considered the verdict a watershed moment, one that reflected that, going forward, the accounts of female accusers may be afforded greater weight and credibility by jurors. Montgomery County District Attorney Kevin R. Steele asked that Cosby’s $1 million bail be revoked, suggesting he had been convicted of a serious crime, owned a plane and could flee, prompting an angry outburst from Cosby. “He doesn’t have a plane, you asshole,” Cosby shouted. Judge Steven T. O’Neill said he did not view Cosby as a flight risk and added that he could be released on bail and would have to remain in his nearby home. The judge did not set a date to sentence Cosby on the three counts, all felonies and each punishable by up to 10 years in state prison. Cosby, who is 80-years-old, legally blind and stated to be in poor health, could spend the end of his life in prison.
Disgraced comedian Bill Cosby Legal experts reveal, however, that maximum sentences are not typically what a defendant will get in Pennsylvania. “The maximums are very deceptive about what the real sentence is going to be,” said Michael DiCindio, a criminal defense attorney who practices in Montgomery County, where Cosby was convicted. DiCindio said that while there are maximums in the state that could be imposed, Pennsylvania's sentencing guidelines are “going to weigh heavily in balance.” Judges have discretion to consider a variety of factors in determining a sentence, including a defendant’s criminal history, the effect of the
criminal behavior on public safety and the possibility of mitigating and aggravating factors in the case. Based on those factors, judges decide the length of the sentence on each count, as well as whether those sentences are served consecutively or concurrently. Defendants are typically assigned a sentencing hearing 60 to 90 days after a conviction. At the sentencing hearing, attorneys for both sides will argue for the aggravating and mitigating circumstances in the case. Cosby has been accused by dozens of women of misbehavior ranging from sexual harassment to assault, but in nearly all of the cases, the statute of limitations had already
passed by the time the allegations surfaced. That was not the case for Constand, a former Temple University employee, who testified that Cosby had drugged and sexually assaulted her in 2004. The three counts Cosby were convicted of stem from that encounter. The National Organization for Women called the verdict a “notice to sexual predators everywhere.” Rose McGowan, one of the women who has accused Harvey Weinstein of assault, tweeted a thank you to the judge and jury and to “society for waking up.” Gloria Allred, the lawyer who represented many of Mr. Cosby’s
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