September 26,2018:
Hollywood Actor and Comedian Bill Cosby at age 81, was sentenced to 3 to 10 years in Prison for drugging and sexually assaulting a woman.
Punishment made him the first celebrity of #MeToo era to be sent to prison and all but completed the dizzying, late-in-life fall from grace for Comedian, Former TV star and breaker of racial barriers.
Montgomery County Judge Steven O’Neill stated that,“It is time for justice. Mr. Cosby, this has all circled back to you. The time has come”.
Judge quoted from victim Andrea Constand’s own statement to the court, in which she stated that Cosby took her “beautiful, young spirit and crushed it.”
Cosby declined the opportunity to speak before the sentence came down, and afterward sat smiling, laughing and chatting with his defense team.
His wife of 54 years, Camille, was not in court. Constand smiled broadly upon hearing the punishment and was hugged by others in the courtroom.
When Cosby’s Lawyers asked that he be allowed to remain free on bail while he appeals his conviction, Judge declined the requested and stated that,“he could quite possibly be a danger to the community.”
Former Model Janice Dickinson, who was among the 60 or so women who have come forward to accuse Cosby of drugging and violating them over the past five decades, looked at Cosby and said: “Here’s the last laugh, pal.”
Another Cosby Accuser in Courtroom, Lili Bernard, stated that,“There is solace, absolutely. It is his fame and his fortune and his phony philanthropy that has allowed him to get away with impunity. Maybe this will send a message to other powerful perpetrators that they will be caught and punished.”
Punishment, also includes a $25,000 fine, came at the end of a two-day hearing at which Judge declared Cosby a “sexually violent predator” a modern-day scarlet letter that subjects him to monthly counseling for rest of his life and requires that neighbors and schools be notified of his whereabouts.
The comic once known as America’s Dad for his role on the top-rated “Cosby Show” in the 1980s was convicted in April of violating Constand, Temple University women’s basketball administrator, at his suburban Philadelphia estate in 2004. It was the first celebrity trial of the #MeToo era.
Cosby faced a sentence of anywhere from probation to 10 years in prison. His lawyers asked for house arrest, stating that Cosby who is legally blind is too old and vulnerable to do time in prison. Prosecutors asked for five to 10 years behind bars, saying he could still pose a threat to women.
Source HT
Picture Source :
