Bill Cosby Sentenced to Three to 10 Years in Prison Over Multiple Sexual Assault Charges

Bill Cosby has been sentenced to three to 10 years in Pennsylvania State Prison. The actor was found guilty earlier this year on three counts for sexual assault: Penetration with lack of consent, penetration while unconscious, and penetration after administering an intoxicant. The charges in the trial were brought forward by Andrea Constand, one of more than 60 women who accused Cosby of sexual assault. Each charge carried a maximum sentence of 10 years.

During the sentencing, Judge Steven O’Neill formally designated Cosby as a “sexually violent predator” (via Deadline). Prosecutors on the first day of the sentencing pushed for Cosby to have a sentence at the “high end” of 10 years, but Judge O’Neill said he’d likely stick to the sentencing guidelines that dictate 22 to 36 months. Cosby was tried in Pennsylvania as he sexually abused Constand at his home in Elkins Park, Pennsylvania. Now that he is designated as a sexual predator, Cosby will have to register as a predator and check in with Pennsylvania state police each month.

Constand appeared at the sentencing to deliver a victim impact statement. “Bill Cosby took my beautiful, healthy young spirit and crushed it,” she said (via Vulture). “He robbed me of my health and vitality, my open nature, and my trust in myself and others.”

Shortly before Cosby was sentenced, the Television Critics Association resigned Cosby’s Career Achievement Award. The critics group awarded Cosby the prize in 2002.

Cosby is best known for creating and starring in “The Cosby Show,” NBC’s highly successful sitcom that ran from 1984 to 1992 and was the highest-rated show in the country for five years. The actor is also known for starring in “I Spy” and creating the animated television series “Fat Albert and the Cosby Kids.”